191,000 narcotic pills seized at Saudi-Jordanian border

Border guards and customs officers thwarted the smuggling of about 191,000 pills in three operations, two at the Durra border crossing and one at Tarif. (SPA)
Updated 16 April 2017
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191,000 narcotic pills seized at Saudi-Jordanian border

JEDDAH: Border guards and customs officers thwarted the smuggling of about 191,000 pills in three operations, two at the Durra border crossing and one at Tarif.

In the first operation, border guards at the northern border foiled the smuggling of 119,000 amphetamine pills and arrested a Saudi citizen at the border after surveillance systems spotted him within 10 kilometers of the Saudi border coming from Jordanian territory.
Border guard spokesman Marine Col. Saher bin Mohammed Al-Harbi said patrolmen on the northern border foiled an attempt to smuggle a narcotic amphetamine pills that were hidden inside a suitcase in two bags.
He added that the person tried to infiltrate the border on foot. When he encountered security officers, he resisted and fought officers.
In another operation, customs officers at the Durra border crossing foiled two attempts to smuggle 70,000 Captagon pills that were hidden inside two vehicles entering the Kingdom.
General Director of Durra Customs Mohammad Al-Aboush said at first a private vehicle entered the customs area, and during the necessary inspection procedures, customs personnel found a quantity of Captagon hidden inside various parts of the vehicle.
Al-Aboush explained that during the second smuggling attempt about 2,000 Captagon pills, were hidden inside the brake parts of the vehicle after being wrapped in black plastic bags. Regulatory procedures were taken in this regard.


Saudi Arabia welcomes ceasefire agreement between Syrian Democratic Forces and Syria state

Updated 19 January 2026
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Saudi Arabia welcomes ceasefire agreement between Syrian Democratic Forces and Syria state

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has welcomed an agreement between the Syrian state and Syrian Democratic Forces.
In a foreign ministry statement early on Monday, the Kingdom said it had welcomed an deal between Damascus and Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces that was announced by the Syrian government on Sunday.
The agreement entails merging all SDF forces into the defense and interior ministries and means that Kurdish forces will redeploy to east of the Euphrates river.
The 14-point deal would also see the immediate administrative and military handover of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa governorates.
The Syrian state would regain control of all border crossings, oil fields, and gas fields in the region, with protection secured by regular forces to ensure the return of resources to the Syrian government, while considering the special case of Kurdish areas, the state news agency SANA reported.
The ceasefire comes after intense fighting between the SDF and government troops in Aleppo. But SDF troops have now pulled back from there and the Syrian army now controls most areas east of Aleppo.
The Saudi foreign ministry statement also thanked the US for the agreement. Washington is believed to have supported brokering the ceasefire between allies SDF and the Syrian government, who they have also backed diplomatically since the fall of long-time dictator Bashar Assad.
The Syrian state announced on Friday a raft of new directives to recognize Syrian Kurds, including making their language official and bolstering other rights for the minority group.