LARGE QUANTITY OF HASHISH, OTHER DRUGS DESTROYED

The Prosecutors Office of Sana'a has destroyed 1477 kilograms of
hashish, and 170 million pills of various kinds of drugs. Security
forces seized these drugs at the Sana'a airport and in the eastern
governorates of Hadramout and al-Maharah. The pills were hidden in
chocolate, and wrapped in pieces of cloth.

In a statement, Special Penal Prosecutor Ali Hussein Asker said the
drugs were seized at the Sana'a airport, as well as various land and
sea outlets, adding that the traffickers are now standing trial. Askar
added that Yemen is frequently used as a drug transit point to
neighboring countries, pointing out that there are still 10 other
cases concerning narcotics awaiting trial.

Sana'a customs manager Ahmed Nasser al-Dharibi said 11 water heaters
were discovered in Sana'a airport filled with drugs, with each water
heater containing over 63 000 pills.

The commander of the Capital Secretariat's anti-drug program,
Brigadier Yahia al-Jaifi said varying quantities of narcotic pills
were captured from different traffickers, who have been referred to
the prosecution. He explained that the traffickers were Yemeni, as
well as foreigners from Pakistan, Iran and Kuwait. Al-Jaifi has said
some Yemeni youth have begun using these drugs.

Himiar Qais, a member of the prosecution said the amount of drugs
destroyed had a street value of ten million dollars. He added that the
drugs were destroyed following their introduction as material evidence
to the court in the trial against the suspects. "Because of the large
amount of the samples, the court ordered their destruction and to keep
only a small amount as evidence," Himiar said.

Judge Radhwan al-Namir of the Primary Penal Court said there are ten
cases of drug trafficking before the court, and the verdicts may vary
from the death penalty to 25 years imprisonment. It is hoped such
strong sentences will act as a deterrent to others considering drug
trafficking, which endangers the future of the country's youth.

Drugs are an increasingly widespread problem in Yemen in recent years,
with headlines being made weekly about the arrest of drug traffickers
attempting to import their product into the country-including the
recent high profile case of 13 Iranians apprehended as they entered
Yemeni territorial waters. This year alone, security forces have
seized 20 tons of hashish, and over 9 million pills, three times the
amount of drugs seized in 2007.