Cairo, Feb 19 (IANS): Egyptian authorities thwarted on Tuesday an attempt to smuggle a large number of illegal drugs into the country, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The General Administration of Narcotics Control at Alexandria, north of the capital Cairo, detected 3,900 kg of banned hashish inside a container coming from an Arab country, said the statement.
According to the ministry, the banned substance was concealed inside food cans.
Elements behind the shipment have been identified, the ministry said, adding that efforts are being made to arrest them.
Egypt suffers a high rate of drug smuggling and addiction with about 10.4 percent of the population aged from 15 to 65 taking drugs, according to the country's Drug Control and Addiction Treatment Fund.