The General Directorate of Drug Control in the Interior Ministry thwarted an attempt to smuggle a drug shipment of about two tons of cannabis, and over eight million Captagon drug tablets coming from an Arab country through the Port Said port.
A statement from the Interior Ministry on Friday said investigations revealed that an international gang of Egyptian and Arab smugglers intended to bring into Egypt a large amount of cannabis drugs and Captagon tablets.
It added that the gang was trying to introduce drugs into the country in containers through the Port Said port, but police forces spotted activity and identified them as eight people, six of them having the nationality of an unspecified Arab country.
Following legal procedures, two containers were first seized at the port of East Port Said. A Customs Security Committee was formed to inventory and inspect the containers.
This resulted in the seizure of two tons of cannabis and 3.97 million tablets of Captagon drug.
The Interior Ministry’s bodies were able to arrest two members of the gang as they were present at their residence in Obour area, about 35 kilometers north-east of Cairo.
Interrogation of the captured members and a subsequent investigation revealed that the gang members smuggled a container into Egypt through Port Said, inside which was a large quantity of Captagon drug, within a storage facility belonging to the gang in Obour city, Qalyubiya.
The container was seized, and upon inspection the authorities found another quantity of Captagon drug at about 4.4 million tablets.
The financial value of the seizures of narcotics was estimated at LE144 million. The necessary legal measures were taken against the incident and the prosecution was notified for further investigations.
The rest of the gang members are being targeted inside the country, the statement said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
