Saudi customs officials seized 17 million amphetamine pills along with 687 kilograms (1,514 pounds) of hashish and sizable amounts of heroin and opium in the first six months of 2010, officials said Sunday. They also seized from smugglers 44,000 bottles of alcohol, customs spokesman Abdallah Kharboush was quoted as saying by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). In the past two years Saudi customs and narcotics officials have intercepted tens of millions of amphetamine pills, usually a synthetic version known in the region as Captagon. In December, authorities announced they had arrested more than 150 people in a huge operation which pulled in large amounts of Captagon pills and 2.37 tonnes (5,000 pounds) of hashish.
