On Saturday, Egypt’s Ministry of Interior said that it had thwarted an attempt to smuggle 6 tons of hashish that was found inside a container seized in a commercial ship in Damietta port.
The ship, which arrived in Egypt passing through several foreign ports, was in transit from Damietta towards another country.
The Interior Ministry said in an official statement that the efforts of its security services are continuing to abort the schemes of dangerous elements seeking to import and smuggle narcotics into Egypt.
It added that the ship had been en route to Sudan from Syria.
Egyptian authorities estimated the financial value of the seized quantity of hashish at EGP 480 million.
Egypt suffers a high rate of drug smuggling and addiction with about 10.4 percent of the population aged from 15 to 65 taking drugs, according to the country's Drug Control and Addiction Treatment Fund.
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