RIYADH: More than 922 kg of banned substances, including more than 20 million pills, have been seized in Saudi Arabia over the past year, the Kingdom’s customs authority announced on Thursday as officials marked the UN’s world anti-drug day.
One recent drug bust in cooperation with authorities from the Syrian Arab Republic thwarted an attempt to smuggle 200,000 amphetamine tablets from the Levant nation, a Ministry of Interior spokesperson said via the Saudi Press Agency.
The announcement was made as a number of awareness events were held across the country on Thursday — the UN’s International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
Events in the Riyadh and Asir regions will run until Saturday, educating members of the public about the dangers of drugs.
Smugglers have attempted to bring contraband into the country in various ways, by concealing the items in shipments of food, household utensils, vehicles, shoes and even inside their body cavities, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority said.
