Saudi Arabia executed Egyptian nationals Ataiwi Faraj Attia Suleiman and Subhi Odeh in Tabuk on the first day of 2019 for smuggling drugs by sea into the kingdom.[1][2] The Interior Ministry said the two men were caught smuggling a large quantity of banned amphetamine pills, hashish and narcotic opium, and that investigators arrested them before the courts convicted them.[2]

The ministry said the death sentences were endorsed by the appeal and supreme courts and that a royal order was issued to carry them out.[2] Saudi Arabia traditionally executes prisoners by beheading for drug offences, which its strict interpretation of Sharia law treats as crimes against God.[1]

The same announcement reported the execution of Pakistani national Nizar Ahmad Qall Ahmad in the Makkah area of Jeddah for smuggling heroin, a separate non-cannabis case.[1][2]