Two members of an Ethiopian smuggling ring have been killed in a firefight with Saudi security forces in the Kingdom’s southern border with Yemen, the Border Guard said on Sunday.

A media spokesman for the Border Guard said border guards were patroling in the mountains of Al-Namas in Asir region on Saturday morning when they chanced upon the smugglers.

The suspects reportedly opened fire and in the ensuing firefight, three other smugglers were wounded and captured, while four policemen were slightly hurt.

Security forces subsequently seized Captagon drugs, alcohol and guns.

Investigators found that the suspects were carrying Ethiopian passports, said the spokesman.

At the end of November, the Ministry of Interior said that more than 41 million amphetamine pills had been seized over the previous 12 months.

Between February and September, around 1,600 Saudis and foreigners had been arrested in drugs-related cases, it added.