Two Syrian drug smugglers were arrested after trying to smuggle more than one million amphetamine tablets into Saudi Arabia in a shipment of oranges, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday.
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The expatriates on visitor visas attempted to bring 1.27 million of the illegal narcotics into the country, SPA said.
They were arrested in the Riyadh region and referred to the public prosecution for further legal action, General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) Major Mohammed al-Nujaidi said in a statement carried by SPA.
Saudi Arabia’s latest drugs bust comes one week after security forces in the southern regions of Jizan, Asir, and Najran thwarted an attempt to smuggle 547 kilograms of hashish and 17.6 tons of the stimulant khat into the Kingdom, on Wednesday March 2.
A total of 51 people including 31 Saudis, 14 Ethiopians, five Yemenis, and one Eritrean were arrested over the smuggling operation, SPA reported.
Drugs seizures are relatively common in the Kingdom, which imposes strict penalties for smuggling and distributing drugs and alcohol.
Amphetamine, methamphetamine, hashish, and the stimulant Captagon are some of the widely seized illicit substances in the country.
Read more:
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