MADINAH, 31 July 2006 — Police smashed a drugs cartel that had smuggled speed pills valued at SR4 million into the Kingdom in an operation described as one of the biggest and most complicated dealt with by the country’s anti-narcotic wing, Al-Watan daily reported yesterday.
Customs officials at the Al-Hudaitha crossing point on the Saudi-Jordanian border informed police in Madinah about a notorious smuggler who had crossed into the Kingdom on Saturday. The smuggler was on a pilgrim bus heading for the Prophet’s City and was carrying 600,000 speed pills.
Anti-drugs police in Madinah were in wait for the drug smuggler and when the bus arrived in the city arrested the man together with the illegal cargo. Police officers decided to use the smuggler to lure dealers he was hoping to supply and forced him to make a telephone call to his suppliers abroad telling them that he had safely arrived in the Kingdom.
The smuggler was left in the bus while plainclothes police watched from afar. After an hour, anti-drugs police saw two men drive close to the bus. A detailed description of the car and the two passengers were noted for future investigation.
A couple of hours later as the bus moved across Madinah visiting different mosques, on a site-seeing tour, police noticed the same car with the two passengers following the bus. This increased police suspicion that the two men were perhaps involved.
A few hours later the bus traveled to Makkah, where anti-drugs officers, who had already been informed of the drug operation, monitored the movement of the bus. Police again noticed the car that had been following the bus in Madinah.
On arriving in Makkah the bus parked near the Grand Mosque. When pilgrims disembarked, the drug smuggler, who had earlier been arrested, waited inside while the two men got off their car and entered the bus. Once inside anti-drugs police moved in to arrest the three men who were all described as being Arabs.
Police say the operation had successfully closed down one of the main drug smuggling routes into the Kingdom.
Speed pills are highly popular in Saudi Arabia, the most common of which is Captagon, the commercial name for the drug fenetylline. Captagon is a stimulant used to curb attention deficit problems in mentally disabled patients. Captagon is illegal in Saudi Arabia, though physicians may administer it under certain circumstances.
Speed pills are known to cause adverse psychological behavior. If taken over a long period, it can damage the nervous system and cause heavy users to have visible twitches.
Robbery Attempt Foiled
Police arrested three thieves who were trying to rob a mobile phone shop in Ahsa, Al-Riyadh newspaper said yesterday. Police arrested the men following a tip-off. Police had been on the lookout for the three men, who were aged between 20 and 30 and suspected to have robbed several restaurants and shops in the area.
