RIYADH: An attempt to smuggle 43 kg of methamphetamine into the Kingdom has been thwarted, authorities said on Monday.
The narcotics were found inside the fuel tank of a vehicle entering the country via Rub’ Al-Khali, the Zakat Port, Tax and Customs Authority said.
The discovery was a result of the authority’s ongoing efforts to tighten customs controls and its collaboration with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control, it said.
Meanwhile, a man was arrested in Samtah Governorate in Jazan region for distributing amphetamine, the directorate said. His case has been referred to the public prosecutors.
In Jazan’s Al-Dair, Border Guard ground patrols arrested 14 violators, nine Yemenis and five Ethiopians, for smuggling 240 kg of qat.
Two Ethiopians were arrested in Jeddah for selling narcotics and 10 kg of hashish, while 16,875 tablets subject to medical circulation regulation were also seized.
And in Al-Rabwa, Asir region, border control officers confiscated 90 kg of qat, a plant whose leaves are chewed as a stimulant.
Anyone with information about illegal drug-related activity in the Kingdom is urged to come forward, and rewards are payable.
