Narcotics Administration in the Kingdom has helped to destroy a Turkish factory which produced 200 million Captagon pills annually, said Brig. Abdullah Abdul Rahman Al-Jameel, Director of the Anti-Narcotics Department in the Eastern Province. Al-Jameel said this cooperation with the Turkish security authorities is part of the administration's preemptive strikes on drug smuggling operations in the country. He said the authorities want to prevent these poisons reaching citizens, especially the youth. Al-Jameel made the announcement while addressing the regular monthly meeting of the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. He pointed out that the administration has 130 branches in the Kingdom and 20 outside the country involved in fighting the drug menace. The administration's foreign branches are usually in the countries of origin or the “transition countries”. He said the anti-narcotics administration and its branches represent the second line of defense after customs. He said the administration is currently following a three-ton shipment of cocaine on its way to the Arabian Sea from Pakistan. He stressed that all measures are being taken to prevent its arrival in the Kingdom. Apart from this, the administration has seized a shipment of 25 kg of cocaine after it entered the Kingdom from Ecuador in Latin America. He said after the Sept. 11 incident in the United States, there has been a steady increase in the drug trade. He said 28 of the 32 provinces are being run by a network of terrorists which is clear evidence that the Kingdom's youth is being targeted. He said scientific studies carried out by the administration have shown that drug dealers have been increasing the potency of hashish from five to 45 percent to speed up the addiction process. He criticized local banks for not contributing enough to anti-drug and anti-money laundering operations. He paid tribute to the private sector for its generous contributions. The offcial said the anti-narcotics agencies have been successful in seizing drug shipments, resulting in one Captagon pill now costing SR100. He said people should look at drug addicts as patients who need help to quit. He said there is an increasing problem of drug abuse among girls in the Kingdom, in addition to other segments of society. He said drug addicts commit some strange crimes. Recently an addict set fire to his mother and his family's house.
