Seven Pakistanis sentenced to death in Egypt for smuggling heroin

A court in Egypt on Sunday sentenced seven Pakistanis, two Egyptians and an Iranian citizen to death on charges of smuggling in over two tonnes of heroin by sea, a judicial source said.

Authorities seized the drugs brought in via the Red Sea, worth around 2.5 billion pounds ($159 million), in 2019.

The suspects were convicted for having stashed the drugs, also including nearly 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine, in a hidden storage room aboard a ship, the source added, without giving details on where the shipment originated.

Capital punishment for civilian convicts in Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country, is carried out by hanging.

Read more: Two brothers sentenced to death in murder case

The ruling can be appealed within two months.

Human rights groups have routinely slammed Egypt's "significant spike" in recorded executions, which saw a more than threefold rise to 107 last year, from 32 in 2019.

Egypt carries out the world's third highest number of executions, after China and Iran, according to Amnesty International.