Egyptian authorities foil smuggling attempt of drugs shipment

CAIRO – 20 November 2019: The Egyptian security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle medicine inside a shipment of juice on Wednesday.

According to a statement issued by the security forces, they received intelligence that one of the exporting companies in Qalyubia Governorate, north of Cairo, is willing to use a juice shipment to smuggle a huge amount of medicine to one of the Arab countries.

The authorities arrested one person, who denied knowing anything about the hidden medicine. Nearly LE 20 million were imposed as a fine on the shipment, and further investigation about the incident is currently underway.

In April, the Egyptian authorities thwarted an attempt to smuggle more than 2 tons of drugs, worth LE 2 billion [US $115,5 million] on board of a ship in the Red Sea, said the Ministry of Interior in a statement.

The ministry conducted prior investigations and arrested a group of drug dealers while trying to bring the drugs into the country's Red Sea governorate, the statement added. The drug dealers include two Egyptian nationals, who are fugitives from justice over charges of drug dealing, and seven other foreigners, the statement explained.

On December 31, 2018, the Egyptian authorities at Nuewiba port thwarted an attempt to smuggle large amounts of drugs hidden inside a Syrian apple consignment.

The consignment carried a large amount of the illegal drug Captagon, in violation to the pharmacy law and laws of customs, import and export. Captagon is the most popular narcotic in the Arabian Peninsula. It is a psycho-stimulant of the Fenethylline drug group.