JEDDAH: Saudi authorities, in cooperation with their UAE counterparts, thwarted an attempt to smuggle 1.5 million amphetamine pills into the Kingdom.
The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority seized 1,531,791 amphetamine pills in total, found hidden inside a truck to be smuggled with large quantities of corn grain at Batha port.
Two people were arrested in Riyadh; a Saudi citizen and a Syrian resident.
The official spokesman of the General Directorate of Narcotics Control, Maj. Mohamed Al-Najidi, stated that the continuous security efforts of the Kingdom in the war on drugs would see it confront anyone who may be tempted to violate its regulations and instructions, which criminalize smuggling, promoting and using drugs.
Saudi authorities have thwarted more than 1,000 attempts to smuggle prohibited items into the Kingdom during the first half of the year, according to a report by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority.
Among the confiscated contraband were more than 126 million narcotic pills, and more than 19,000 kg of drugs such as hashish, heroin and cocaine, as well as more than 60,000 bottles of wine and more than 81,000 liters of liquor, the report said.
Saudi authorities foil liquor smuggling attemptsDrug smuggling attempt thwarted at Jeddah port
