The seized motorized glider which was used to smuggle more than 700,000 captagon stimulant pills into the Kingdom. RIYADH — Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, has banned the use of gliders in the Kingdom until safety and security concerns have been addressed. The directive comes days after border inspectors thwarted an attempt by a motorized glider to enter the country's airspace. Saudi forces arrested the crew who were trying to smuggle more than 700,000 captagon stimulant pills into the Kingdom. Mansour Al-Turki, Interior Ministry spokesman, said the craft flew across the Saudi border at dawn last Tuesday. Ten people were arrested over the drug smuggling attempt, the first time a glider had been used for criminal activity in Saudi Arabia. Captagon is classified by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as an “amphetamine type stimulant” and usually blends amphetamine, caffeine and other substances. It is particularly popular in Middle Eastern countries, with regional captagon seizures there and in southwest Asia rising steadily, according to the UNODC. The Saudi government regularly seizes hundreds of thousands of captagon pills each year. The use of the glider raised fears among officials that militant groups could carry out attacks using similar tactics. “The goal of this particular group was confined to smuggling drugs, but the idea itself poses the danger that such methods could be used to threaten the security of the Kingdom…which has been the target of terrorist acts,” Al-Turki said in the statement. He added that the drug smugglers were intercepted thanks to increased border security measures launched two years ago. Meanwhile, the Saudi Aviation Club has demanded that its members throughout the Kingdom strictly abide by this new directive. In an urgent circular it has requested members and suppliers of aviation parts to cease any activities relating to this field of activity pending further notice. The Saudi Aviation Club is now compiling a list of rules for those who practice gliding as a hobby. These will provide safety guidelines and prevent smuggling by restricting the hobby to certain authorized areas.
