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.