Egyptian passenger allegedly had hundreds of illegal pills

Cairo airport authorities say they have arrested an Egyptian passenger who was allegedly carrying hundreds of pills of a banned drug in his luggage.

Ibrahim Abdel Latif, a senior official at the Customs Authority, said Friday his office received a tip from drug control officers at the airport identifying an Egyptian passenger they suspected of trying to smuggle drugs from France into Egypt.

Upon the passenger’s arrival from Paris, customs officials searched his luggage and found 450 Tramadol pills, Abdel Latif said. Tramadol, a powerful painkiller, is listed by Egyptian authorities as an illegal drug because it is widely used as a heroin substitute.

The passenger, who was not identified, was detained and faced possible charges.