Saudi authorities foil bids to smuggle drugs into Kingdom

RIYADH: Security officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday thwarted several attempts to smuggle large quantities of drugs into the Kingdom.
Lt. Col. Misfer bin Ghannam Al-Quraini, spokesman for the Border Guard, said coastal patrols in Ras Tanura in the Eastern Province had foiled a bid to sneak 495,481 amphetamine tablets into the country, while naval patrols in Khafji in the Eastern Province had stopped 241 kilograms of hashish and 419,000 amphetamine pills getting through.
Maritime security officers in Haql in the Tabuk region had also undermined a smuggling operation involving 334,000 amphetamine tablets, he added.
Al-Quraini said that legal procedures had been completed, and that the drugs seized had been handed over to the relevant authorities.
“The border guards are continuing to confront all smuggling attempts with firmness, determination, and capabilities,” he added.
Meanwhile, director of relations and media at the Ministry of Interior’s security regiment affairs agency, Col. Ahmed Al-Towayan, revealed that 56 kilograms of hashish had been seized in the Asir region.
He said the drugs had been confiscated during two security operations, and that the cases of two Ethiopian nationals arrested in connection with the seizures had been referred to the Public Prosecution.