CAIRO, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian police killed eight drug and arms traffickers in a shootout at their hideouts on Nile islands, north of Cairo, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said Tuesday in a statement.
The men had a criminal record including murder, drug dealing, illegal weapons possession, armed robbery, and vehicle theft, the ministry said.
They were operating from Nile islands adjacent to the provinces of Menoufia and Qalyubia, using speedboats to facilitate their movements and exploiting the area's terrain to escape security pursuit, it said.
After obtaining legal approvals, security forces monitored and tracked the gang's movements before targeting them. "The criminals opened heavy fire at the police forces, and the exchange resulted in their death," the ministry said.
Police also seized 125 kg of drugs estimated at about 16 million Egyptian pounds (around 330,000 U.S. dollars), along with eight firearms, it added.
