7 drug traffickers killed by police in security operation in Egypt

Seven drug traffickers were killed on Tuesday in an exchange of gunfire with Egyptian police in a remote Nile River island in the northern Beheira province, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement, reported Xinhua.

The operation was launched after intelligence identified the island stronghold as the base for a criminal hotbed involved in drug trafficking, the ministry added.

The traffickers had extensive criminal records, including prior convictions for serious crimes such as murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, and firearms offenses, according to the statement.

They had been involved in smuggling and trading large quantities of drugs, leveraging the island's challenging terrain and utilizing boats for transportation, while also possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition, it added.

The criminals opened fire on police officers who approached them, resulting in an exchange of gunfire that led to the death of the leader and six of his associates, the statement said, adding that the remaining members of the criminal group have been apprehended by the security teams.

A subsequent search of the stronghold yielded a substantial haul of illegal materials, with an estimated total value of approximately 10 million Egyptian pounds (208,990 U.S. dollars).