Saudi authorities arrest 5 suspects in separate drug-trafficking cases

RIYADH: Saudi authorities have arrested five people for drug trafficking offenses, seizing a large volume of the narcotic plant qat and hashish, plus amphetamine tablets and other restricted drugs in separate operations, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.

Agents of the General Directorate of Narcotics Control arrested three Egyptian residents in Riyadh during one operation and seized 35 kilograms of hashish, 12,260 amphetamine tablets and 24,991 prescription tablets. 

In the southwestern province of Al-Baha, the narcotics directorate caught an Ethiopian national violating the Kingdom’s border security system and selling hashish. 

In the northern province of Al-Jouf, anti-narcotics control agents arrested a citizen for selling amphetamine tablets.

All five arrested suspects had been referred to the Public Prosecution, SPA said.  

In the southwestern province of Jazan, Border Guard land patrols thwarted separate attempts to smuggle qat from Yemen, including 160 kg in Al-Aridhah governorate and 114 kg in the governorate of Farasan, SPA said. No arrests were mentioned in both cases.

In one of the biggest drug hauls, anti-narcotics authorities in Riyadh region seized 4.7 million Captagon tablets with a street value of up to $117.5 million. The General Directorate of Narcotics Control said that the tablets were found hidden in a shipment of concrete blocks.

Amphetamines are largely used by young men and teenage boys across the Middle East, and the funds raised through the sale of narcotics is usually ploughed back into the drug trade while some of it find its way into organized crime and terrorism, authorities say.

Security authorities called on citizens and residents to report any information related to drug smuggling or selling to the General Directorate of Narcotics Control by calling 911 for Makkah, Riyadh, and the Eastern Regions, or 999 for the rest of the regions, or by emailing 995@gdnc.gov.sa.