Southern border is secure, Border Guards say

The Border Guards has assured citizens that the southern border of the country is secure and that its officers are prepared to protect the country against smugglers and infiltrators amid the growing tension on the northern border owing to the Iraqi crisis. Maj. Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, official spokesman of the Border Guards, said that all necessary measures against any security risk has been taken.
“Hashish smuggling recorded high levels during the first days of the holy month of Ramadan but the Border Guards succeeded in curbing the increases,” he told a local newspaper, adding that most smugglers trying to smuggle hashish into the Kingdom were from Yemen.
“The border guards have also intercepted smugglers from the Kingdom trying to smuggle contraband and government subsidized items into Yemen,” he said.
Meanwhile, the official spokesman of the Border Guard of Jazan Abdullah bin Mahfouz reaffirmed that the southern borders are secure and there was no evidence of any suspicious activity. He said that the officers and soldiers deployed along the border were working round the clock to ensure security.
“The security guards are working hard to protect the southern borders against smugglers and infiltrators who are either violators of the Kingdom’s labor and residency regulations, criminals or terrorists,” he told Arab News.
Recently, border security officers foiled two separate attempts to smuggle large quantities of hashish into the Kingdom from Yemen.
In the first operation, the border guards seized 21 kg of hashish from a Yemeni national in a mountainous border location in Asir Province.
Border Guard patrols also inspected individuals carrying large bags attempting to enter the Kingdom across the mountainous border, Col. Abdullah Al-Hamrani, spokesman of the Border Guards in Asir Province, said.
Security patrols observed that some smugglers used mules to carry narcotic substances across the mountainous terrain, the spokesman said.