MINA: The 911 Unified Security Operations Center covering Makkah has been receiving more than 64,000 daily reports from the region and holy sites, mostly related to humanitarian services.
The center oversees more than 5,000 cameras to monitor the security situation in the region. Its staff of 720 people receive reports around the clock, and speak six languages: Arabic, English, French, Farsi, Indonesian and Urdu.
Security official Abdulrahman Al-Saleh confirmed that the center works with agencies concerned with emergency situations, including security patrols, traffic and road security departments and the Civil Defense.
The project involves “key partners such as the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA), ministries of health, environment, water, agriculture and transport, along with others, such as the secretariats,” Al-Saleh said.
Al-Saleh also announced that work is underway to implement such centers across all regions of Saudi Arabia.
The center in Makkah is divided into several sections, and includes a female-staffed group to receive reports from women.
It also includes support agencies for security work of the likes of the Ministry of Health and secretariats in Makkah, Jeddah and Taif, and the water and electricity companies.
“The mechanism of work of the center is based on receiving the reports and collecting all the information delivered by the reporter. The report is passed to all the concerned parties in 30 seconds,” Al-Saleh said.
Makkah security center receives 64,000 reports a day
Makkah security center receives 64,000 reports a day
Over 4.8m captagon pills found hidden in Jeddah charcoal shipment
- Captagon is an addictive, amphetamine-type stimulant that is mass-produced in illicit factories
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 4.8 million captagon pills through Jeddah’s port, hidden inside a shipment of charcoal.
The authority’s spokesperson Hamoud Al-Harbi said that a shipment arrived at the port, which, after being assessed by customs authorities, was found to contain a large amount of the illicit drug, hidden inside charcoal bags, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
After the pills were seized, the authority coordinated with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control to ensure that the intended recipients were arrested.
Al-Harbi added that ZATCA is working to tighten customs control on Saudi imports and exports and stands ready to combat smuggling.
He called on members of the public to contribute to the fight against smuggling.
ZATCA may be contacted for security reports by phone from inside the Kingdom at 1910, outside the Kingdom at +9661910, or by email at [email protected].
The authority receives reports related to smuggling crimes and violations of the customs system in complete confidentiality and offers financial rewards to any reports that are accurate.
Captagon is an addictive, amphetamine-type stimulant that is mass-produced in illicit factories.
It is simple to produce compared to other narcotics, and drug smugglers have found a market for the substance in the Gulf states.
Syria under Bashar Assad was one of the largest producers of captagon in the region.
When his government was overthrown in December 2024, one of the first steps taken by the new President Ahmed Al-Sharaa was to crack down on the production of captagon in Syria.
