The Egyptian army announced on Tuesday evening that it had stopped a drug smuggling ship in the Red Sea and arrested its crew members.
Army spokesman, Colonel, Tamer Rifai said in a statement that “the Egyptian Navy has thwarted an attempt to smuggle a ship carrying narcotic substances into the country”.
“After searching the ship, it turned out that it carried 7 kilograms of active substance used in the manufacture of drugs” Rifai said, adding that the ship crew members which includes 10 individuals of different nationalities were arrested.
He added that “the smugglers and the confiscated material were taken to the nearest maritime point to the competent authorities to take the necessary legal action against them”.
This comes two days after Egypt hosted a conference for the Arab and African countries of the Red Sea, with the participation of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Djibouti, Yemen, Sudan and Eritrea to discuss illegal immigration, human trafficking and the smuggling of arms and drugs.
Read: Police seize drugs being smuggled from Egypt to Israel