Authorities In Egypt Seize 18 Million Narcotic Pills At The Alexandria Port
Egyptian security forces reportedly confiscated eighteen million narcotic pills at a port based in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, the Interior Ministry mentioned on Tuesday.
A video highlighting police vehicles driving through the port was posted on the ministry’s Facebook page on Monday. A statement mentioned that the drugs were found within three huge shipping containers.
The pills, the value of which amounted to about 1.5 billion Egyptian pounds, per the ministry, arrived on a vessel, the documents claiming that it was transporting a dietary supplement called the calcium carbonate pills.
The ministry mentioned that the shipment reportedly weighed almost 34 tons and was packaged within 56 parcels.
They came from a foreign port and were in transit in Alexandria on their way to yet another foreign port, the ministry reported, without specifying the ports that were involved.
The operation was carried out by a joint effort that involved the National Security Authority, the interior ministry, the Anti-Narcotics General Administration, and the Alexandria Port security.
The ministry’s statement didn’t specify the narcotic it was but declared that they were substances that impact users’ nervous systems and psychological states.
Security officials reportedly arrested eight men of different nationalities who belonged to the ship’s crew. The relevant security officials also discovered four laptops, a GPS device, ten mobiles, and an undisclosed cash.
When confronted with the containers’ contents, they admitted to what the investigations had already revealed, the ministry said.
Further inspections are currently underway, and legal actions will be taken against the crew members, the police mentioned.
References: Arab News, The National News, MSN