RIYADH: Saudi Border Guards in the southern regions have thwarted a number of attempts to smuggle one ton and 10 kilograms of narcotic hashish across the provinces of Jizan, Najran, and Asir since 30 December 2018.
The Border Guards Spokesperson said that 35 people have been arrested during their attempts to smuggle narcotics to Saudi Arabia through its Southern borders including 28 Ethiopians, 2 Yemenis, 4 Somalis, and 1 Saudi citizen.
The Ministry of Interior affirms that the Government of King Salman is keen on combating narcotics due to their great harm to individuals and the society, warning anyone who tries to commit such actions would be punished according to Sharia.
The ministry said the Kingdom’s security authorities are capable of deterring the continued attempts to target the citizens with narcotic substances.
As part of the combating initiative, Saudi border guards have foiled several attempts to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of narcotic substances and arrested dozens of smugglers in Tabuk, Jazan, Najran and Asir regions in recent months.
Spokesman Col. Saher bin Mohammed Al-Harbi said the border guards will remain a strong, vigilant, steadfast barrier to all those trying to harm the homeland, attack its citizens and smuggle drugs.
Saudi Border Guards thwart attempts to smuggle more than one ton of hashish
Saudi Border Guards thwart attempts to smuggle more than one ton of hashish
Saudi Arabia launches initiative to reroute Gulf cargo to Red Sea ports
- The initiative comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the widening conflict in the region
- Since the US and Israel struck Iran last month, Tehran has moved to restrict passage through the waterway
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has launched an initiative to redirect shipping from ports in the Arabian Gulf to its Red Sea ports amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war.
Transport Minister Saleh Al-Jasser, who also chairs the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), launched the Logistics Corridors Initiative alongside Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority Governor Suhail Abanmi, Mawani President Suliman Al-Mazroua, and other officials, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The initiative will establish dedicated operational corridors to receive containers and cargo redirected from ports in the Kingdom's Eastern Region and other Gulf Cooperation Council states to Jeddah Islamic Port and other Red Sea coast ports.
Al-Jasser said the Kingdom was committed to ensuring supply-chain stability and the smooth flow of goods through global trade routes. Jeddah Islamic Port and other west coast ports, he added, were already playing a key role in accommodating shipments redirected from the east, while also linking Gulf cargo to regional and international markets.
The initiative comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the widening conflict in the region. Iran has long threatened to close the strait — the world's most critical oil and gas chokepoint, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass — in the event of a war.
Since the US and Israel struck Iran last month, Tehran has moved to restrict passage through the waterway, sending freight rates soaring and forcing shipping companies to seek alternative routes.
Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports offer a viable bypass, connecting Gulf cargo to global markets without passing through the strait.
