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Riyadh: A Saudi study has revealed that 89 per cent of narcotics smugglers in the kingdom do not take any kind of narcotics and that the main motive for trafficking is to gain financial benefits.
The study conducted by Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman Al Khuzaim for Naif University for Security studies, an affiliate of the Arab Interior Ministers Council, shows that Pakistani nationals represent 74 per cent of those involved in drugs smuggling into the Kingdom. Other nationalities involved in smuggling drugs into the kingdom come from Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Nigeria, Yemen, Turkey, Philippines and Thailand.
The study also shows that 68 per cent of people sentenced for drug trafficking were from Pakistan.
According to the study 96 per cent of traffickers come to Saudi Arabia by air with counterfeit travel documents.
While a majority of smugglers prefer to arrive in Saudi Arabia late in the night, assuming that at security checks will not be very strict and tight compared to the day time.
Serious dimension
The study draws the attention of the authorities to a very serious dimension in the attempts made for smuggling and trafficking drugs in the kingdom - that is to grow hashish in Saudi Arabia
"The common factor among the drugs smugglers is their repeated attempts to smuggle hashish in particular, but the most dangerous phenomenon is the attempt by some smugglers to grow hashish in the Saudi capital of Riyadh city," said the study.
As for the types of drugs smuggled into the Kingdom, "hashish comes at the top and followed by heroin, captagon, seconal, qat, and cocaine respectively.
The smugglers use various means and tools in their attempts to bring in these types of drugs. These include hiding the drugs in trucks loaded with food items, construction materials and textiles, as well as in their handbags or in some sensitive parts of the human body.
The study further shows that 99 per cent of the smugglers are males, 79 per cent of them are married and their ages range from 30 to 50 and that 95 per cent of them are Muslims.
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