Saudi authorities seize multimillion-dollar drugs haul – millions of amphetamine tablets stashed in lorry compartments

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The General Directorate for Drug Control and the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority conducted the operation. (SPA)
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The General Directorate for Drug Control and the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority conducted the operation. (SPA)
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The General Directorate for Drug Control and the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority conducted the operation. (SPA)
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The General Directorate for Drug Control and the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority conducted the operation. (SPA)
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Updated 05 January 2023
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Saudi authorities seize multimillion-dollar drugs haul – millions of amphetamine tablets stashed in lorry compartments

  • Over 3 million amphetamine tablets were seized and 3 people were arrested

RIYADH: Saudi authorities have thwarted a multimillion-dollar drugs smuggling operation, the General Directorate for Drug Control said on Wednesday.

Maj. Mohammed Al-Nujaidi, the spokesman for the Kingdom’s anti-drug authority, said  3,049,451 tablets were found hidden inside compartments of a truck, that traffickers were trying to bring into the Kingdom.

The drugs haul had an estimated street value of approximately $30.494m to $76.236m according to research published in the International Addiction Review Journal, which said users paid in the range of $10-$25 a pill

Al-Nujaidi said the operation was carried out in coordination with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, adding that three Saudi nationals have been arrested in the capital, Riyadh, and in the Eastern Province.

Amphetamines are largely used by young men and teenaged boys across the Middle East – but the money raised through the sale of all narcotics is not only used to further supply of the illegal drugs trade, but to fund other organized crime and terrorism.

Preliminary legal measures have been taken against the three men captured and they have been referred to the Public Prosecution, Al-Nujaidi said.


Saudi Arabia announces new financial support to the Yemeni government

Updated 45 min 36 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia announces new financial support to the Yemeni government

RIYADH: Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and Supervisor of the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen Mohammed Al-Jaber announced that the Kingdom, under the directives of its leadership, has provided new support to the Yemeni government's budget, aimed at paying the salaries of state employees in all sectors.

In a post on X, Al-Jaber stated that this support complements a package of development projects and initiatives, amounting to SR1.9 billion, announced on Wednesday. The package includes provision of necessary petroleum derivatives to operate power plants, which will contribute to improving the living standards of people in Yemen and alleviating daily burdens on them.

Al-Jaber’s post emphasized, in particular, that all salaries of military and security forces linked to the the higher military committee linked to the Saudi led Coalition will be paid as of Sunday. 

 

The post is likely relate to Several Media reports which have suggested that disgraced former Southern Transitional Council (STC) chief Aidaroos Al Zubaidi — who has now fled Yemen — was taking advantage of military personnel and withholding salaries as means of pressure. Al-Zubaidi is wanted by the Yemeni government for acts of high treason and corruption. 

The ambassador emphasized that these steps come within the framework of supporting the Yemeni government's efforts to implement the economic reform program, which aims to achieve financial and economic stability and enhance the state's ability to meet its basic obligations.