RIYADH – Security authorities in Saudi Arabia have arrested at least 928 people over the past four months for various drug-related offenses, the Interior Ministry announced. They included 318 Saudis and 610 foreigners belonging to 33 nationalities, Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turk, security spokesman for the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. They were accused of smuggling, transporting, receiving and distributing drugs and weapons. Al-Turki said security forces faced armed resistance from the smugglers during some of the operations, which resulted in injuries to 21 officers. Three suspected criminals were killed and eight others were wounded. The spokesman said 118 machine guns, 56 rifles, 247 pistols, 421 other weapons and 46,202 bullets were seized. He said a criminal gang comprising Pakistani and Syrian nationals was uncovered during the period. The gang members were involved in money laundering, forgery of official documents and drug trafficking. Over 7.4 million amphetamine pills, more than 11.6 tons of hashish, 7.26 kilograms of unpurified heroin and 93 grams of pure heroin were seized, in addition to 309,811 narcotic pills, over the four-month period from Muharram 1 (Oct. 25, 2014). Al-Turki said a total of more than SR15.2 million in cash was seized from the smugglers. The authorities also succeeded in dismantling a gang that engaged in smuggling heroin into the Kingdom via the UAE. The spokesman lauded the constructive cooperation that the security agencies received from their counterparts in other countries.
