Pakistani national executed for smuggling drugs into Saudi

A Pakistani national has been executed in Saudi Arabia’s eastern region for smuggling a quantity of heroin into the kingdom inside his bowels, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Saudi’s Ministry of Interior confirmed the man’s identity as Safdar Iqbal Patty Khan.

The ministry said that the accused was convicted by the general court with the sentence endorsed by the appeal and supreme courts. A royal order was then issued to execute the sentence.

It also asserted that the government is keen on combating narcotics due to their “great harm to individuals and the society”, warning that violators will be punished according to Sharia law.

The kingdom’s laws on drug smuggling are among the strictest in the world and it has carried out multiple executions of those convicted of the crime this year.

Those executed this year include a Saudi national this week, a Palestinian national and a Saudi national last week, two Saudis and three Yemenis executed in August and one Saudi, three Pakistanis and two Egyptians executed in April.