Egypt navy busts 170kg of heroin on Iranian boat

The bust was carried out on a vessel in the Red Sea. All seven crew members, consisting of four Iranians, two Indians, and a Pakistani man have been arrested.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

19 December, 2016

Egypt is a transit point in the global drugs trade [Getty]

The Egyptian Navy has carried out a successful bust on drug smugglers attempting to smuggle over 170 kg of drugs from Iran into the country by sea.

On Saturday Egyptian Naval Forces intercepted “Abadan”, an Iranian vessel in Egyptian waters in the Red Sea, and upon inspection found 319 packages containing drugs weighing some 171 kg, in addition to nine mobile phones, a satellite phone, and wads of cash in a number of different currencies.

All seven crew members — consisting of four Iranians, two Indians, and a Pakistani man have been arrested and transported to a naval base on mainland Egypt.

Al-Ahram reported that the seized drugs, found hidden under the floors of the ship’s toilet, were heroin.

Drug smuggling can carry the death penalty in Egypt.

Egypt is considered an important country in the world’s global drug trade due to its geographical location lying between the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal.

Opiates and Heroin travel to the country from Afghanistan before they are moved onwards to Europe, while cannabis travels from Morocco through the Sahel and Sahara before it is distributed in both Europe and the rest of the Middle East region.

Twitter Post

Translation: Video - Captured members of an Iranian boat carrying 319 bags of drugs (weighing) around 171 kg within Egyptian territorial waters
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