RIYADH: Saudi government has planned to tighten readiness of its internal security forces to face the smuggling of drugs and other illegal goods into the country.
Deputy Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Naif, second deputy premier and minister of interior, will oversee the 21-day event, which will be held in the Northern Province.
Over 1,500 soldiers and security personnel will take part, from the Border Guard, Special Security Forces, Public Security (special emergency forces and security patrols), Premises Security Forces, Aviation Security, Civil Defense, Command and Control Center of the interior ministry, Supreme Commission for Industrial Security, and the Customs Department.
A ministry spokesman said the main aim of the exercise is to improve the readiness of the country’s security agencies to counter smuggling by extremist and smugglers.
In February, Border Guard patrols in Asir region foiled several smuggling operations. These included the attempt by 3,200 illegal expatriates to cross into the Kingdom, the capture of 8,277 weapons, 376 miscellaneous weapons and 158 guns, and the confiscation of 561 kg of hashish and 1,152 kg of tobacco and qat.
Commander of the Border Guard in Asir, Safer bin Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, said that the agency has patrols operating around the clock to protect the country’s borders.
Meanwhile, the Border Guard in Jazan seized 847 weapons, 78,079 rounds of ammunition, 238,035 narcotic pills, 187,513 kg of qat, 2,240 kg of hashish, 489 kg of food, 7,135 kg of snuff, 3,453 pieces of fireworks, SR228,946 in cash, and 2,243 head of livestock over a four-month period.
The ministry also deported more than 700,000 foreigners for violating work and residence laws and foiled over 290,000 attempts by infiltrators to cross into the Kingdom illegally.