Iranian police seize drugs on pilgrims flying to Saudi Arabia’s Mecca

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iranian Airport Police on Saturday announced they had confiscated 2 kilograms of illicit drugs from local pilgrims who were on their way to Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca for Hajj.

“Police found and seized more than 1.9 kilograms of drugs from pilgrims who were boarding a flight to Saudi Arabia,” Hassan Mehri, the head of police of Iran’s airports, told Tasnim news agency.

He mentioned that so far, 51,000 pilgrims from Iran’s airports have flown to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj. 

The pilgrims carrying the narcotics were not allowed to fly to Medina, and if they are eventually allowed to perform Hajj, they will have to go directly to Jeddah airport and then to Mecca.

Mehri noted that if they are allowed to perform the religious ritual in Saudi Arabia, Iranian authorities will deal with their drug trafficking case upon their return.

The police official also said that some 30,000 more pilgrims would soon depart to Saudi Arabia. Mehri asked those traveling not to make sure they are not carrying any prohibited materials or drugs, stressing that Iranian police will catch them before they even board the plane.

Mehri warned that those who do manage to sneak drugs out of Iran would be caught by the Saudi Arabian airport police and subsequently arrested.

The police added that there has been, to this date, no report of drugs being confiscated from Iranian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Editing by Nadia Riva