RIYADH: More than 3.6 million amphetamine tablets have been confiscated by Saudi authorities in the Riyadh region.
Maj. Mohammed Al-Nujaibi, spokesman for the General Directorate for Narcotics Control, said that “the security monitoring of drug smuggling and promotion networks … has resulted in the seizure of 3,636,000 amphetamine pills concealed in a potato shipment.
“The recipients of the shipment, three residents and two visit visa holders, were also arrested,” Al-Nujaibi added. “The initial legal measures were taken and the defendants were referred to the public prosecution.”
The drugs haul had an estimated street value of approximately $36m to $90m according to research published in the International Addiction Review Journal, which said users paid in the range of $10-$25 a pill.
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.
The Saudi authorities continue in their crackdown on the supply and use of illegal narcotics with millions of amphetamine tablets siezed almost every week.
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