Saudi authorities thwart bid to smuggle 12.7m amphetamine pills

The drug bust resulted in the arrest of four expats. (SPA)
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Updated 25 April 2023
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Saudi authorities thwart bid to smuggle 12.7m amphetamine pills

  • Tablets found concealed in pomegranate shipment at Jeddah Islamic Port

RIYADH: Saudi authorities in the Jeddah region have thwarted an attempt to smuggle more than 12.7 million amphetamine pills, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

Col. Marwan Al-Hazmi, official spokesman for the General Directorate of Border Guard, said: “The security monitoring of drug smuggling and promotion networks resulted in the seizure of 12,729,000 amphetamine tablets concealed in a pomegranate shipment at Jeddah Islamic Port.”

The drug bust, which was coordinated with the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority, resulted in the arrest of four expats, two Egyptians, one Syrian, and one Yemeni.

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Saudi defense minister receives Mukalla port director, thanks him for heroic role

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman poses with the director of the Port of Mukalla Salem Basamir on Tuesday.
Updated 13 January 2026
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Saudi defense minister receives Mukalla port director, thanks him for heroic role

  • Prince Khalid thanked Basamir for his heroic and humanitarian role in ensuring safety and protecting lives and property at the port

RIYADH: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman received the director of the Port of Mukalla Salem Basamir on Tuesday.
In a post on social media platform X, Prince Khalid thanked Basamir for his heroic and humanitarian role in ensuring safety and protecting lives and property at the port.
The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen carried out a limited airstrike in December targeting foreign military support at the Port of Mukalla in the Hadramaut governorate, where calm has been restored after a period of tension.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency following the strikes, coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said two ships coming from the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates entered the Port of Mukalla without obtaining official permits from the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition.
“The crews of the two ships disabled their tracking systems and unloaded a large quantity of weapons and combat vehicles to support the Southern Transitional Council forces in the eastern governorates of Yemen (Hadramaut and Al-Mahra) with the aim of fueling the conflict. This is a clear violation of the truce and the pursuit of a peaceful solution, as well as a violation of UN Security Council Resolution No. 2216,” said the spokesman.