Cairo airport customs foil trafficking of drugs, swords

Tighter security measures by customs authorities at Cairo International Airport have helped thwart several smuggling attempts, officials said.

Separate attempts to smuggle memory cards, drugs and swords into Egypt were foiled at terminal three in recent days.

Legal measures are being taken against the passengers accused of violating Egyptian laws and regulations.

Two Arab passengers who arrived on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa were caught trying to smuggle in thousands of memory cards hidden in the pockets of their dresses.

A manual search revealed that the passengers were carrying 2,500 and 3,300 memory cards separately.

In another case, 51 strips of Tramadol — containing 510 tablets — were seized from a foreign passenger of Egyptian origin who arrived on an Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna.

Tramadol is an opioid and painkiller commonly used by addicts.

An Egyptian was arrested with four strips of Tramadol containing 40 tablets as well as four plastic packages containing 40 effervescent tablets of the same drug.

The passenger had arrived from Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.

Also at the airport, an Asian passenger arriving from Beijing on an Egyptian Airlines flight was found to be in possession of six swords with sharp metal blades.

Possession of the weapons is prohibited according to Law No. 394 of 1954 and its amendments.

Separately, customs officers at Cairo International Airport earlier foiled attempts to smuggle drug tablets, bladed weapons, antique coins, cigarettes and ophthalmology tools and supplies into Egypt.

Customs authorities last month said they thwarted multiple attempts to smuggle gold into the country.

In April, customs officers at Hurghada International Airport foiled an attempt to smuggle in Tramadol tablets in breach of Egyptian anti-narcotics laws.