Egypt: Seven Pakistani nationals sentenced to death for smuggling heroin worth £2.5 bn

An Egyptian court sentenced seven Pakistani nationals to death on charges of smuggling drugs by sea. Apart from them, there were two Egyptians and one Iranian smuggler, who have been ordered to be executed under similar charges. As per the Egyptian Independent, the smugglers were arrested by Egypt’s Armed Forces and Police with over 2,140 kilograms of heroin, 99 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ICE), and banknotes on a ship in the Red Sea in April 2019.

As per ANI, the recovered narcotics amounted to roughly £2.5 billion. The police also recovered 99 rolls of ICE drugs in addition to 305.000 Iranian Rial, 3,375 Palestinian Shekels, $171, and four cell phones. The crystal methamphetamine was retrieved from onboard hidden storage of a vessel at the Cairo port, ANI reported, citing Pakistani Observer. The contraband was brought into the country through the Red Sea, Egyptian officials informed.

The smugglers along with the ship were arrested after the National Security Agency (NSA) received a tip-off about the preparation undertaken to sail off a commercial ship with a flag of a foreign country, the interior ministry said in a statement. The NSA guards arrested the gang and identified two Egyptians as formerly convicted felons sentenced to life imprisonment. They were charged with illegal possession of arms and banned drugs. 

'Significant spike' in recorded executions

Following the order of the current execution, the total tally under the list has displayed a "significant spike" in recorded executions, a Cairo-based Human Rights group pointed out. As per reports, the number is three times higher than last year. Currently, documented executions in the Middle-Eastern nation is 107, which is about 70 units higher than in 2019. Additionally, Egypt recorded 43 state-ordered executions in 2018, 35 in 2017 and 44 in 2016.

Capital punishment in Egypt and Arabian countries is legal. As per death sentence records published by the Egyptian Initiative for personal rights, Egypt executed 7 prisoners in January and February of 2021. In September 2020, the Egyptian court ordered the death penalty for 75 convicts and life imprisonment for 47 others. Later in October, 53 suspects were executed following the hearing of the Agouza nightclub shooting case. 

With inputs from ANI

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