Saudi border guards stand next to bags of drugs that smugglers tried to bring across the kingdom's southern border. Photo: Saudi Interior Ministry
Saudi border guards stand next to bags of drugs that smugglers tried to bring across the kingdom's southern border. Photo: Saudi Interior Ministry
Saudi border guards stand next to bags of drugs that smugglers tried to bring across the kingdom's southern border. Photo: Saudi Interior Ministry
Saudi border guards stand next to bags of drugs that smugglers tried to bring across the kingdom's southern border. Photo: Saudi Interior Ministry

Saudi Arabia seizes hundreds of kilograms of hashish and qat at Yemen border


Ismaeel Naar
  • English
  • Arabic

Saudi Arabia’s border guards have foiled an attempt to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of hashish and qat into the kingdom from Yemen to the southern regions of Jazan, Najran and Asir.

Border authorities seized 760 kilograms of hashish and more than 45 tonnes of qat, said Col Misfir Al Qarini, the official spokesman for the General Directorate of the Saudi Border Guard.

In total, 61 people were arrested in the drug bust, including 41 Saudi citizens.

Qat is a leafy narcotic consumed widely in Yemen and is said to induce euphoria, loss of appetite and sleeplessness. If abused, the drug can cause mild psychological dependence, the World Health Organisation says.

A video posted on the Saudi Interior Ministry’s Twitter account shows hundreds of bags filled with the confiscated drugs.

Saudi Arabia seized more than 37 tonnes of illegal drugs last year, as well as 190 million Captagon pills, figures released by the kingdom’s customs authority showed.

Lebanon and Syria are the biggest sources of Captagon tablets smuggled into the kingdom, but some of the pills are manufactured in Jordan, where authorities in 2018 dismantled a laboratory producing the drug.

Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
  • George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
  • Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
  • Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
  • Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills. 
Hunting park to luxury living
  • Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
  • The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
  • Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds

 

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Company profile

Name: Dukkantek 

Started: January 2021 

Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani 

Based: UAE 

Number of employees: 140 

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service) 

Investment: $5.2 million 

Funding stage: Seed round 

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office  

Updated: May 04, 2022, 10:58 AM