More than 4,000 smugglers arrested last year

Saudi gazette report

RIYADH – The Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday the results of the tasks of the Border Guard Forces during 2016 (1438H), Saudi Press Agency reported.

This came during a press conference held by the Ministry of Interior Security Spokesman Maj. Mansour Al-Turki at the Internal Security Forces Officers Club in Riyadh Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki 4,656 people were arrested during 6447 smuggling attempts. The smugglers included 2800 Yemenis, 1343 Ethiopians, 455 Saudis, apart from Somali, Eritrean, Filipino, Pakistani, Indian, Egyptian, Jordanian, Sudanese and Bangladeshi nationalities.

The quantity of drugs seized from smugglers totaled 18,157,902 narcotic pills, 22 tons and 59 kg of hashish; 3311 kg of qat, and 4 kg of opium.

The quantity of firearms and ammunition in the possession of smugglers totaled 3559 various kinds of weapons.

The total attempts to infiltrate into the Kingdom across the borders exceeded 3559. They involved 27,264 people. Of these, 26,047 were apprehended while trying to infiltrate into the Kingdom while 1217 were arrested trying to leave the Kingdom illegally.