KSA to conduct air patrols on its southern borders

Saudi Arabia will use support aircraft to monitor its borders with Yemen to detect smuggling and illegal infiltration, said Jazan Border Guard spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdullah bin Mahfooz.
“It is not the intention of the directorate to make the use of land vehicles for surveillance operations and control on the borders dispensable,” Mahfooz said. “The aircraft will support the work of field guards in the area.” He said the aircraft will take off from the Sharurah Airport.
“The Directorate is ready to receive 50 pilots after they complete specialized courses in the field abroad,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Hassan Amish, commander of the Border Guards in the Twal sector, said that officers at the borders seized 401 infiltrators during the month of Ramadan.
“Our patrols also managed to thwart an attempt to smuggle 262 kg of qat and more than 258 kg of hashish, as well as handling other security issues, including the smuggling of 33 Kalashnikov and 32 submachine guns,” he added. He said the Director General of Border Guard, Maj. Gen. Zmim Al-Sawat, gave his orders to honor two security officers for preventing a smuggling operation of a large quantity of hashish. They received the appreciation of the Minister of Interior, Prince Muhammad bin Naif.
In a related development, a security source said that there have been attempts by expats who were deported to falsify video clips posted on the Internet of persons wearing border guard uniforms and of detainees being tortured. The source said that the directorate documents all procedures taken by its officers and border guards while handling and addressing cases of detainees, violators and those who have been deported to prove that they complete all the formal procedures within the framework of the law without causing harm to individuals. Meanwhile, recent investigations into Saudis who were captured trying to sneak into Yemeni territory last month found that they were wanted in a number of security cases.
Mahfooz said that they were wanted persons from a group that includes more than 20,000 people who tried to sneak across the borders. However, Mahfooz did not disclose whether they were involved in terrorist operations.