JEDDAH: Saudi customs officers at Jeddah Islamic Port have foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 12 million Captagon pills into the country.

The Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority said the drugs were hidden among a consignment of cocoa beans and were discovered during security checks on shipments passing through the port.

The authority pointed out that it had collaborated with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control in tracking down those behind the import shipment.

In August, a report said that Saudi authorities thwarted more than 1,000 attempts to smuggle prohibited items into the Kingdom during the first half of the year.

Among the confiscated contraband were more than 126 million narcotic pills, and more than 19,000 kilograms of drugs such as hashish, heroin and cocaine as well as more than 60,000 bottles of wine and more than 81,000 liters of liquor, the report said.