Thanks to stepped-up security efforts, local supplies of hashish have largely dried up, Assistant Minister of the Interior for Social Security Mostafa Amer said this week, describing the development as a "major setback" for drug smugglers and addicts. Amer praised a recent five-day eradication campaign against narcotic plants in the Sinai Peninsula, which led to the destruction of 154 cannabis plantations covering a total area of 71 acres, and 29 poppy plantations covering a total area of four acres. The campaign also resulted in the confiscation of 17 tons of of dried cannabis. According to Amer, the campaign's success was largely due to coordination between security authorities in north and south Sinai, Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, together with Egypt's tax and port authorities. To the chagrin of local users, waning hashish supplies have caused street prices to sky rocket in recent weeks and months. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
