NAJRAN, 16 January 2008 — Border guards at Saqam in Najran seized 60 kilograms of hashish from smugglers on a mountain pass, Maj. Gen. Saad Al-Shahrani, commander of the Border Guard in the region, told Arab News yesterday.

“The contraband was caught while smugglers, who were on foot, were attempting to cross into Najran along the Amourat pass,” Al-Shahrani said, adding that border guards also discovered 56 kilograms of hashish hidden under rocks on a mountain.

The region, which is very difficult to access because of its steep mountains and deep ravines, is known to be a haven for cross-border smugglers, he said.

adding that the Border Guard had foiled, with the help of advanced surveillance cameras and specially trained personnel, several attempts to smuggle narcotics through the mountain passes in the past.