The 14 smuggling operations worth SR3.2 billion foiled by Saudi security agencies recently are connected to Al-Qaeda, new information revealed Wednesday. On Tuesday authorities announced the arrest of 195 people over the past four months and the seizure of massive quantities of drugs. It is learnt that the terrorist organization used smugglers to bring drugs from Afghanistan to the Kingdom through the borders of a major country in the region. The unidentified persons arrested are being investigated and “will be referred to the Shariah courts after investigations are over,” said Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior. Security experts believe that the drug seizures mean that Al-Qaeda will not have access to a large amount of money for their operations. They believe that the Kingdom's security and infrastructure is still being targeted by the terrorist organization. Sources said that the Kingdom's strict regulations regarding drug smuggling has created a situation where drug dealers can ask for more money for the drugs and so make huge profits. Al-Qaeda was turning to drug smuggling because other sources of funding have dried up, said the sources. In the operations over the past four months, security authorities seized over eight million Captagon tablets, more than 2.7 tons of hashish and 20 kilograms of pure heroin. Those arrested include 108 Saudis, 29 Pakistanis, 17 Yemenis, nine Syrians, one Turkish national, one Sudanese, one Egyptian and an Indian. Identities of 28 others could not be immediately determined.
