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Egypt Drug Trafficking
The use of narcotics became an increasingly serious problem in
Egypt during the 1980s. Some officials estimated that as many as 2
million Egyptians were users of illegal drugs as of 1989. Many of
these users were students and children of wealthy parents. Many
people used cocaine or heroin, while others used opium or hashish,
which Egyptians have commonly smoked for centuries. According to
one source, Egypt had about 250,000 heroin addicts in 1988. Police
claimed that drug use was spreading at a frightening pace and that
the rising cost of narcotics was causing addicts to commit crimes
to obtain money for drugs.
A large amount of the hashish and opium sold in Egypt was
produced domestically. In 1988 and 1989, however, Egyptian
authorities seized large shipments of heroin and other drugs that
were probably produced in Lebanon and Pakistan. An estimated 300
kilograms of heroin were sold in Egypt in 1988. In 1984 (the latest
year for which data were available) an estimated 264,000 kilograms
of hashish and 2,000 kilograms of opium were sold. The value of the
illegal drugs sold in 1988 was estimated at US$1 billion.
Law-enforcement authorities were more successful in arresting
people who sold drugs on the streets--typically owners of kiosks
where cigarettes were normally purchased--than major drug dealers,
who were apparently able to buy immunity by bribes to high
officials. The government had begun punishing drug violations more
severely and had proposed subjecting some offenders to the death
penalty. Egypt convicted about 3,500 people on charges of narcotics
trafficking in 1982. About 2,500 of these individuals received
sentences ranging from six months to one year; about 1,000 persons
received sentences of five years or less, and 15 received life
sentences at hard labor. By 1988 Egypt had imposed much stiffer
penalties. A woman from Britain, for example, received a
twenty-five-year sentence for smuggling a small amount of heroin
into the country.
Data as of December 1990
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