Gaza - Police on Sunday in the Gaza Strip burnt about 3 million dollars worth of recently captured illegal drugs, officials with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said. Ihab al-Ghusein, a spokesman for the ministry, said that large amounts of different kinds of drugs were recently seized in the Gaza Strip, including hashish, marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogenic drugs.
He said the step was meant to show that under Hamas, Gaza has not turned into an "enclave of criminals."
Hamas has controlled Gaza since ousting the security forces of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah in June, following several weeks of bloody Palestinian infighting.
"Seizing the drugs is part of the great achievements of the security forces in Gaza," said Ghusein.
Hamas, after its takeover, justified the move by alleging that Fatah had encouraged corruption and chaos and accused Fatah leaders of criminal behaviour.
