Libyan authorities have seized 50kg of heroin

The Libyan authorities have seized 50kg of heroin in a record haul, the interior ministry said in a statement on Monday. Heroin of "pure quality" was seized in the Al-Wahat region in the east of the country, the ministry said. It did not specify if any arrests were made. The statement said that the amount was the largest ever seized in a North African country and the second largest recorded in Libya. Efforts are being made "to eradicate the epidemic" in Libya where illegal narcotics are considered "weapons of mass destruction," the statement said, without elaborating. Drug trafficking carries the death penalty in Libya, a key transit route for drugs that come mainly from Egypt, Morocco and Turkey. Last week the authorities announced they had seized one tonne of hashish in the southeastern region of Tazerbo.