Riyadh — Saudi Arabia and Nigeria stopped an attempt to smuggle 451,807 amphetamine tablets into the Kingdom by a network linked to the Hezbollah of Lebanon, reported on Thursday by SPA, the Saudi Press Agency.
The network attempted to smuggle Captagon amphetamine tablets to the Kingdom, hidden inside mechanical equipment by sea from Lebanon to Nigeria. These were seized before being shipped to another country and sent to the Kingdom.
The Ministry of Interior’s security spokesman, Col. Talal Al-Shalhoub, said that one of Hezbollah’s “drug production and smuggling networks” was behind the attempt.
“The shipment was seized in coordination with our counterparts in Nigeria before the network had the chance to ship it to another country,” he said.
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The security spokesman praised the cooperation with the Nigerian Interior Ministry in apprehending the drugs.
“The Kingdom will continue to monitor the criminal activities that target the Kingdom’s security and youth with drugs, counter and thwart them and arrest all those involved in such activities,” he added.
As such shipments have increasingly smuggled drugs, Lebanese vegetable and fruit exports have been banned from entering the Kingdom or passing through since last April.
