The Ninth Circuit of the Asyut Criminal Court on 7 November 2026 sentenced a defendant to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment after convicting him of trafficking opium and hashish weighing more than five kilograms in total and of holding an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.[1] The convicted man was a 38-year-old worker identified as Ahmed A., who lived in Maragha centre in Sohag Governorate and was said to trade wholesale and semi-wholesale drugs across villages and centres of southern Asyut.[1] Asyut Security Directorate officers working with the General Department for Drug Control had arrested him in May 2026.[1]
Investigators said secret sources reported he planned to deliver drugs to a client near the Al-Nakhila crossing on the western road in Abu Tig district.[1] A force led by Major Ahmed Thamarat with Major Fathi Tawson set a mobile ambush there and caught him riding an unlicensed tuk-tuk, a three-wheeled motorbike.[1] His personal search yielded one piece of hashish and a bag with four wraps of opium, plus a locally made shotgun with one cartridge loaded and two more cartridges of the same calibre, 1,200 Egyptian pounds and a mobile phone.[1] Searching the tuk-tuk found a plastic sack hidden under his feet with 29 large wraps of opium and another bag with 15 large pieces of hashish.[1] The Asyut chemical laboratory weighed the hashish at a net 473.90 grams for the 15 pieces plus 99.80 grams for the single piece, together 573.7 grams.[1] The same laboratory weighed the opium at 4,275 grams for the 29 wraps plus 55.60 grams for the four wraps.[1] Confronted with the seizures, he admitted holding the drugs for trafficking and the firearm to protect that trade.[1] He added that the money was proceeds of the trade, the phone was for contacting clients and the motorbike was for moving and promoting drugs.[1]
The criminal evidence department found the firearm and three cartridges complete and fit for use.[1] After the investigation the First Attorney General for South Asyut referred the detained man to the criminal court, which imposed the 15-year term.[1] The bench was headed by Counselor Ahmed Mohamed Halawa with members Mohamed Ayman Saddah, Mohamed Samir Al-Tamawy and Ramy Mohamed Samir.[1]