CAIRO, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian authorities thwarted on Tuesday an attempt to smuggle a large amount of illegal drugs into the country, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The General Administration of Narcotics Control at East Port Said seaport, northeast of Cairo, found 630 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 boxes containing apples.
The ministry said two Arab men were behind sending the shipment to Egypt, adding that one of them was arrested at his residence near Cairo.
The other man lives in his home country, the statement added.
The value of the seized drugs is estimated at about 45 million Egyptian pounds (about 2.83 million U.S. dollars).
Egypt suffers a high rate of drug smuggling, abusing 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.
