Airport customs officials have thwarted attempts by three men to smuggle some 17kg (37lb) of drugs, mostly marijuana, into Qatar, authorities announced.

The busts of three men, all hailing from Asian countries, are the latest in a long line of drug smuggling attempts that the country has foiled this year as it struggles against becoming an increasingly popular transit point for trafficking.

QNA reports:

After inspecting a suspected bag, customs officer found two hidden pieces of cloth saturated with opium, of which one was hidden inside the clothes and the second inside a piece of wrapped carpet, with other 7 pieces hidden in the bag handle, (acting director of Air Custom Khalid Hamad Rashid) Al-Kaabi said.

With regard to the marijuana he explained that about 15 kilograms were seized with an Asian passenger hidden in the clothes in his bag, and about 850 grams were with another passenger hidden in the clothes he had been wearing.

The men were all aprehended at Customs in the passenger terminal over the past few days, the official added.

They were handed over to security authorities to face charges.

Credit: Photo by Richard Lee