4,000 Detained, Weapons Seized

JEDDAH, 28 December 2003 — Saudi Arabia has arrested over 4,000 infiltrators and seized vast quantities of weapons and drugs in the south of the country, it was announced yesterday.

But the Saudi Press Agency, which carried the announcement, did not say over what period the arrests and seizures, near the porous border with Yemen, were made.

“Security agencies in the Najran region have arrested 4,047 infiltrators and confiscated several machine guns with a large quantity of live ammunition,” the agency said. They also seized dynamite and explosives in addition to drugs and wine, SPA added.

The Kingdom has recently stepped up security along its southern border, a traditional route for drug and arms smuggling, following the May 12 bombings in Riyadh.

Saudi authorities said weapons and explosives smuggled across the border from Yemen were used in the attack that killed 35 people, including nine terrorists.

Meanwhile, police in Jizan have arrested a 30-year-old Saudi and his Sudanese companion for suspected involvement in the Al-Muhaya Compound blast in Riyadh.

According to Al-Watan daily, the two were arrested while traveling in a JMC van. Police became suspicious of the men when they refused to stop at checkpoints in Riyadh. Security sources said the two suspects rented the vehicle from a company in Riyadh, adding they were moved to the capital for further investigation.