RIYADH: The security forces have apprehended 113 drug dealers who were attempting to smuggle large quantities of forbidden drugs into the Kingdom, the Ministry of Interior announced Sunday.
“The drugs included 3,044,926 Captagon pills, over three tons of hashish and 10,626 grams of pure heroin,” Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said.
He said 57 of those arrested were Saudis and the others were of varying nationalities.
Al-Turki said great efforts are needed to guard the vast land and sea borders of the country and prevent the entry of prohibited goods. He stressed that the security forces had comprehensive strategies aimed at countering narcotic smugglers who come both by land and sea. “Those involved in smuggling the forbidden items tried to resist the police in a few cases which resulted in causing slight injuries to two policemen and three smugglers,” Al-Turki said.
“At King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah an expatriate was apprehended with 3,749 grams of heroin in his shoes along with another individual who had concealed 818 grams in his abdomen,” the spokesman said. He added that the security forces were able to implement their program at the airport because of effective cooperation from the customs authorities.
Al-Turki said that the Ministry of Interior would continue to fight the narcotic dealers and smugglers. “We will bring the arrested criminals to justice and make sure that punishment is given according to the law of the land.”
Giving an instance of their audacity, Al-Turki said in one case, the smugglers tried to bring in 1,414 kilograms of hashish into the Kingdom by boat through waters in the Gulf.
“We have also foiled three attempts to smuggle a total of 891 kilograms of hashish through the Kingdom’s southern borders,” the spokesman said. “There were six attempts to smuggle 939,118 Captagon tablets into the Kingdom.”
Al-Turki praised security officers for their vigilance in preventing drug smuggling and trafficking into the Kingdom. “The smugglers had used professional methods to hide prohibited drugs as they were kept inside cars, various equipment, refrigerators, batteries and beverage bottles,” he said.
He commended the cooperation of customs officers in foiling the smuggling of 1.34 million Captagon tablets and 4.57 kilograms of heroin.
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