Saudi anti-drugs police have aborted an attempt by a gang linked to Yemen’s Al Houthi militia to smuggle 1,652kg of hashish into the kingdom, an official said.

The General Directorate for Narcotics Control (GDNC) foiled the plan to smuggle the illicit substance into the kingdom through the Arabian Sea and Yemen, a GDNC spokesman added, according to the Saudi news agency SPA.

“The necessary measures were taken according to a joint security plan with the General Directorate for the Border Guard,” he added. “This criminal conspiracy was aborted and a haul of 1,652kg of the hashish drug was seized,” he said.