158kg of cannabis, Dh2.7m pills seized in UAE

Around 158kg of cannabis (hashish) and Captagon tablets worth Dh2.7 million were seized from drug traffickers during the first half of this year in joint operations carried out by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman. In all, 12 drug dealers were arrested.

Colonel Saeed Abdullah Al Suwaidi, director general of the federal anti-drugs control department and deputy chairman of the anti-narcotics council, said that the UAE leadership has shown great importance to the fight against drugs at the local, regional and international levels. The UAE police deal firmly with drug smugglers and traffickers, he added.

Al Suwaidi said that Abu Dhabi Police and anti-narcotics department of Sharjah Police collected confidential information that helped in seizing a large amount of drugs during the first six months of this year. Three operations were carried out in cooperation with our Saudi Arabia and Oman counterparts, he pointed out.

Al Suwaidi thanked the ministry of the interior and anti-narcotics agencies in Saudi Arabia and Oman, praising their prompt action and cooperation.

Colonel Taher Ghareeb Al Dhahiri, director of anti-narcotic department at the Abu Dhabi Police, said that one of the operations was launched after information was gathered by security agencies confirming that a regional drug gang was involved in smuggling narcotics in the Gulf.

The police zeroed in on the suspect planning to smuggle around 50kg of cannabis from Yemen to the UAE via Oman.

He added with cooperation from Omani police, the team was able to arrest the main suspect following an ambush. The police recovered a pistol and other arms in his possession.

In two more operations, Al Dhahiri said after being tipped off, the police nabbed drug traffickers while they were trying to smuggle cannabis into Saudi Arabia through the UAE. The police of both the countries set up a joint force and swooped on the smugglers while they crossed the UAE borders and were heading towards Saudi Arabia.

In the fourth operation, Lt. Col. Majid Sultan Al-Asam, deputy director of anti-narcotics department at Sharjah Police, said that confidential information received by them indicated that drug traffickers were planning to smuggle Captagon tablets to Saudi Arabia, through UAE. The UAE police coordinated with their Saudi Arabia counterparts and captured the suspects.

Colonel Said Al-Kuwaiti, director general of the Drug Control Federation and deputy chairman of the anti-narcotics council, pointed to the importance of international cooperation in combating drug trafficking.

Source: Khaleej Times