Saudi authorities seize huge stashes of drug pills in Riyadh
Several suspects have also been arrested in raids conducted by anti-narcotics officials
February 11, 2017
JEDDAH: Anti-narcotics teams in Riyadh seized 680,000 methamphetamine pills in two separate operations over the past two days and arrested five people for their involvement in the smuggling and trading in drugs.
On a tip-off that a large quantity of drug pills were in process of being distributed in Riyadh, a team of officials raided the location, arresting 3 people and hauling up over 424,000 amphetamine pills that were hidden in cavities of metal objects.
Those arrested included three Saudi and two Syrian nationals.
In another operation, anti-narcotics officials arrested two more Syrian nationals who were found in possession of a coffee-grinding machine with 257,200 pills of methamphetamine stashed inside.
Meanwhile, customs officials at King Abdulaziz International Airport Jeddah foiled six attempts this week to smuggle drugs, including more than 2 kilograms of heroin, according to a senior airport official.
The drugs were being peddled by three individuals arriving at the airport.
Some of the drugs were hidden in capsules that were extracted from the stomach of one smuggler, some found from a cavity in another passenger’s shoes and rest were stowed in a food box in the third individual’s bags.
Director General of Customs at King Abdulaziz Airport Bandar Al-Rehaily said that the department also aborted an attempt to smuggle more than 24,000 Captagon pills that were found hidden under a passenger’s belt.
The pills had been concealed in black bags.
Al-Rehaily added that 317 grams of cocaine was retrieved from another passenger’s stomach.
Customs officers also foiled an attempt to smuggle 1.951 kilograms of the banned shabow (methamphetamine) hidden in another traveller’s bag.
The DG Customs said that the foiled attempts were evidence of the Saudi Customs’ relentless efforts to prevent the entry of all prohibited materials into the Kingdom.
Earlier in January, anti-narcotics teams in Riyadh had arrested eight members of a cell, of different nationalities, found in possession of 400,000 pills of methamphetamine.
