Mishal Al-Otaibi Saudi Gazette RIYADH — There has been a sharp decline in the percentage of smuggling into the Kingdom from across the southern Yemeni border after the launch of the Decisive Storm military operation in March this year, said Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, security spokesman at the Ministry of Interior. “The rate of smuggling fell by 89 percent during the first four months of the operation,” he said at a press conference at the Officers' Club in Riyadh on Tuesday evening. Al-Turki said that the Kingdom has been successful in foiling smuggling of drugs and this has been possible with the support of some Arab countries. “We managed to carry out preemptive operation to prevent smuggling of drugs, thanks to the flawless coordination and cooperation with the authorities of some countries. The General Directorate of Narcotic Control managed to exchange information with their counterparts in five countries about involvement of some people in the manufacturing and trafficking of drugs which led to the foiling of smuggling attempts,” he said. The coordination helped in nabbing those involved in the attempt to smuggle 2.4 million amphetamine pills from Qatar and more than two million captagon pills from Lebanon and three million narcotic pills from Jordan, Al-Turki said. There was a failed bid to manufacture amphetamine in Sudan. A Bulgarian national was also arrested along with other smugglers in this regard, he said. Al-Turki said that there was no concrete evidence to show that women were actively involved in the smuggling and sale of drugs. “However, some smugglers had exploited their women and children to take part in their crimes so as to mislead the security officials,” he added.
