Qatari authorities seized nearly 2,000 tramadol painkiller pills and half a kilogram of hashish in the suitcase of a passenger who landed at Doha's Hamad International Airport on Monday, the Arab country's General Customs Authority reported.
"Customs at Hamad International Airport thwarted the smuggling of tramadol and hashish. The customs officer became suspicious of a passenger's luggage, so he inspected it and found 1,990 tramadol pills and 464.5 grams of hashish," the Authority said. in a brief statement posted on Twitter.
The authorities did not offer details about the passenger's nationality or what legal measures they will take against him.
This is the first drug seizure that has been made since the start of the 2022 Soccer World Cup, which opened on Sunday with the match between the host and Ecuador.
The consumption and smuggling of illegal drugs is severely punished in Qatar and in the other countries of the Persian Gulf, with jail terms and large financial fines.
Despite the fact that the authorities of these countries make great efforts to thwart the entry of drugs into their territory, anti-drug operations have increased in recent years, especially in Saudi Arabia.
In the last six years, Saudi Arabia has thwarted the entry of 600 million narcotic pills from Lebanon, according to the Saudi ambassador in Beirut, Waleed Bukhari.
