A Suez criminal court sentenced Saturday a judge to life in prison after finding 68 kilogrammes of hashish (cannabis extract) in his possession last November.

The unnamed judge was arrested when security forces stopped his car at the Ahmed Hamdy Tunnel that connects the eastern and the western banks of the Suez Canal and discovered the drugs, which have a value of around EGP 1.5 million.

Life in prison is 25 years according to the Egyptian penal code.

The judge's driver and a European woman travelling with them were also arrested.

The court also sentenced the female friend and driver to 10 years in prison.

The sentences can still be appealed in front of the appeals court.

At the time of the judge’s arrest, judicial sources had told Al-Ahram that Justice Minister Hossam Abdel-Rahim accepted the resignation of the judge following the incident.

Hashish has been illegal in Egypt since it signed the Geneva International Convention on Narcotic Control in 1925.