ABHA: Three drug smugglers were killed in a shootout with Saudi police in the southern province of Asir, an official spokesman of the Drug Combating Department said yesterday.
Maj. Ibrahim Abu-Hulayel said the incident took place on Wednesday after police surrounded a house in Asir province where suspected smugglers were hiding. One policeman was wounded.
Police confiscated 71 kg (156 lb) of hashish that remained after the smugglers set fire to their stash, he said.
“The smugglers were trying to escape from police after setting fire to the drugs,” Abu-Hulayel said, adding that a police officer sustained deep wounds to his chest and hand.
“One of the smugglers killed in the shooting was the gang leader,” the spokesman pointed out.
Police have arrested three African members of the gang. “Two of them received slight wounds during the gunbattle and have been taken to hospital for treatment,” he added.
Last week, border guards in the southern region of Najran foiled an attempt to smuggle 1,205 kilograms of hashish into the Kingdom from Yemen. Two smugglers were arrested during that operation after a gunbattle.
Maj. Gen. Mohammed Al-Zahrani, commander of the Border Guard in the region, said police had confiscated a number of guns and live ammunition from the smugglers.
