Riyadh, Apr 26 (Agency) The Saudi Arabian General Directorate of Narcotics Control said Tuesday it has thwarted an attempt to smuggle more than 12 million amphetamine pills concealed in a shipment of pomegranates. “The General Directorate of Narcotics Control prevented an attempt to smuggle 12,729,000 tablets of amphetamine hidden in boxes of pomegranate fruit,” the force said on Twitter. The general directorate added that it detained four suspects in the Jeddah province- two Egyptians, one Syrian, and one Yemeni national.
Saudi Arabia seized about 47 million amphetamine pills — one of the largest drug smuggling attempts — in the fall of 2022, according to the general directorate. In 2021, Saudi Arabia announced the ban on imports of Lebanese fruits and vegetables due to increasing attempts of drug smuggling from Lebanon and Syria. The decision came after the Saudi authorities thwarted an attempt to smuggle over five million Captagon tablets hidden in pomegranates.