Yemen: Arrest of Arab "Experts" Active Within Houthi Cells

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

Arab Sea - Ashraf Khalifa: The Yemeni Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of "experts" holding Lebanese and Syrian nationalities, who are active within cells working for the benefit of the Houthi militia. The ministry stated that security services in the interim capital, Aden, arrested these individuals, along with other Yemenis linked to the Houthis, about 3 months ago. It indicated that the three individuals were "about to move to areas controlled by the Houthi militia to supervise the arrangement for the establishment of a new factory for the production and manufacture of narcotic pills, after it was impossible to get the equipment to Sanaa." The Yemeni Interior Ministry added that "all investigations have proven that the main source behind financing and mobilizing these networks, and attempts to establish drug factories throughout the country, is the Iranian regime, which seeks to turn Yemen into a platform for exporting deadly poisons to the region." It explained that "since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, Tehran has moved part of its suspicious activities to within Yemen, and, along with the Houthi militia, has resorted to a fragmented smuggling method, by introducing the equipment for these factories and manufacturing materials in small batches to avoid detection." Last Thursday, the Yemeni authorities announced the thwarting of an attempt to establish a factory for the production of narcotic pills in Al-Mahra Governorate, in the east of the country. The ministry commented on the operation, saying that "this security operation also led to the discovery of a number of cells linked to smuggling operations, and also led to the tracking of some collaborators with these networks."