An Egyptian court on Monday sought the religious opinion of the country's grand mufti on preliminary death sentences handed down to 10 people over drug smuggling offences. The case involves 7 Pakistanis, one Iranian, and two Egyptians who were convicted of attempting to smuggle over 2 tonnes of heroin worth EGP 2.5 billion onboard a ship via the Red sea. Egyptian security authorities arrested the gang members who were in a sailing ship within Egypt's territorial waters on the Red Sea. The drugs were stashed inside a secret warehouse in the ship's hull, according to the security authorities. The religious opinion of the mufti is non-binding, but is a necessary procedure before issuing a death sentence in Egypt, according to the country's code of criminal procedure.