RIYADH: Authorities in Saudi Arabia thwarted an attempt to smuggle tens of thousands of amphetamine tablets in the capital, Riyadh, Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
Spokesman for the General Directorate of Narcotics Control, Maj. Mohammed Al-Nujaidi, said that during a security follow-up of the drug smuggling and distribution networks targeting the Kingdom, officials seized 197,570 amphetamine tablets.
They were in the possession of two Syrian residents and a Saudi national in Riyadh, he added.
Al-Nujaidi said the operation was done in cooperation with the directorate’s counterpart agencies in Oman and the UAE, and in coordination with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority in the Kingdom.
He also said that all three have been arrested, initial legal measures have been taken against them, and they have been referred to the Public Prosecution.
Saudi authorities foil plot to smuggle thousands of amphetamine pills in Riyadh
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Saudi authorities foil plot to smuggle thousands of amphetamine pills in Riyadh
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.
