Abdul Rahman Al-Ali Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officer appeared before the court Saturday after being accused by the Control and Investigation Bureau of abusing his power and using a confiscated luxury car for over a year running his personal errands. The car's owner, a drug trafficker, was arrested over a year ago and his car was impounded. The officer, according to the CIB charges, has been using the car ever since. In his defense the officer stated that he had to move the car from the impound lot in north Jeddah to another one for security reasons, adding that he was acting on his director's orders. He said the car was moved to the other lot because the DEA received information that a drug network was planning to steal the car. The officer even submitted a letter to the judge stating that he has not used the car for personal errands and that the car has not left the impound lot ever since it was confiscated. However, the CIB representative objected saying the letter was faked and that the officer was able to procure it through some of his friends who were trying to obstruct justice. The officer insisted that the letter was obtained officially. However, the judge was not convinced by the letter and asked the officer to have it properly attested and re-submit it. The session was adjourned to the end of this month. Qat smuggling foiled Police have foiled an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of qat from the southern region to Jeddah. The Asian driver's suspicious behavior led the police to discovering the contraband. The truck was monitored before it was stopped. On inspecting the truck, the security men discovered 1,119 bundles of qat that were concealed between panels. The bundles were wrapped in pieces of cloth to prevent them from drying out. On questioning the driver, he said he came from the southern region and was to hand over the consignment to a fellow countryman in Jeddah, who would then distribute them. The driver and seized contraband were handed over to the pertinent authorities in Jeddah.
