Saudi authorities arrest 5 suspects in separate drug trafficking cases

Saudi authorities have arrested five persons for drug trafficking, seizing a large volume of the narcotic plant qat and hashish, plus amphetamine tablets and other restricted drugs in separate operations, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Friday.

In one of the cases, agents of the General Directorate of Narcotics Control arrested three Egyptian residents in Riyadh during an operation. Seized from the trio were 35 kilograms of hashish, 12,260 amphetamine tablets, and 24,991 prescription tablets.

In the southwestern province of Al-Baha, the narcotics directorate nabbed an Ethiopian national caught violating the Kingdom’s border security system while at the same time selling hashish.

In the northern province of Al-Jouf, anti-narcotics control agents of arrested a citizen for peddling amphetamine tablets.

All the five arrested suspects had been referred to the Public Prosecution, SPA said.

In the southwesternmost province of Jazan, Border Guard land patrols thwarted separate attempts to smuggle qat from Yemen, including 160 kilograms in Al Aridhah governorate and 114 kilograms in the governorate of Farasan, the SPA said. No arrests were mentioned in both cases.

In one of the biggest drug hauls this year, anti-narcotics authorities in Riyadh region seized 4.7 million Captagon tablets with a street value of up to $117.5 million last May. The General Directorate of Narcotics Control said the tablets were found hidden in a shipment of concrete blocks.

Amphetamines are largely used by young men and teenage boys across the Middle East, and the money raised through the sale of all narcotics are usually plouwed back into the drug trade while some find their way into organized crime and terrorism, authorities say.

Security authorities called on citizens and residents to report any information related to drug smuggling or selling to the General Directorate of Narcotics Control by calling 911 for Makkah, Riyadh, and the Eastern Regions, or 999 for the rest of the regions, or by emailing 995@gdnc.gov.sa.