Cairo: Saudi Arabia’s customs authorities said they had foiled an attempt to smuggle into the kingdom more than 1 million Captagon drug pills stashed into a pepper shipment.
The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (Zatca) added in a statement that the attempt had been thwarted in a pepper and guava cargo transported to the kingdom aboard a truck through the Red Sea Duba port in north-western Saudi Arabia.
After the bid was uncovered, Zatca coordinated with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control, and the would-be recipient of the shipment was arrested.
In recent months, Saudi Arabia has stepped up its crackdown on narcotics smugglers and traffickers in what is dubbed the “war on drugs” and reported a string of thwarted attempts.
Last month, Zatca announced uncovering attempts by several air passengers to smuggle cocaine and heroin hidden into their guts. More than 2 kilograms of cocaine were detected stashed in the guts of three travellers arriving at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, Zatca said.
The customs officers also foiled an attempt by a fourth passenger to smuggle 878 grams of heroin hidden in the gut at the same airport.
In January, Zatca officials said they had foiled an attempt to smuggle 841,440 Captagon pills through the Al Haditha border crossing with Jordan. The haul was seized hidden inside into iron boxes in a truck coming to the kingdom.
Drug smuggling and trafficking is an offence punishable by up to death in Saudi Arabia.
