Sharjah: Police here have successfully foiled an attempt by 10 drug smugglers to illegally import about 118 kilograms of narcotic substances, said Brigadier Mohammad Eid Al Madhloum, Director-General of Police Operations at Sharjah Police.
The seizure of such a massive quantity of drugs is expected to sunstantially deprive the underground criminal market of illicit substances in the region, police said.
Sharjah Police received advance information from Khalid Port about seizure of narcotic substances expected to arrive in a marine transport and police formed a team to follow up the case.
The work by the team helped police identify four Asian sailors who shipped the drugs inside their vessel into Khalid Port in Sharjah before handing over the illicit substance to the intended recipients, identified by police as residents living within the UAE.
Police said on Monday that the plan was to hand the drugs over in stages to hide their crime.
Brigadier Al Madhloum said authorities began the investigation and tracked down 10 suspects. The drug smugglers were arrested in a trap set for them.
At the time of the raid, police said they found 110kg of hashish, eight kg of opium and crystal ready to be distributed.
The drug seizure was the result of a joint operation conducted by Sharjah, the federal Anti-Narcotics department at the Ministry of the Interior and the Coast Guard.
UAE authorities set the trap to arrest the suspects one by one.
“This is another large prohibited drug smuggling attempt foiled by UAE authorities,” Brigadair Al Madhloum said.
Ten suspects arrested by Sharjah Police are of different nationalities, from GCC, Asia and African countries.
“It was very clear this was a well-organised network and investigations led to the arrest of the suspects who arranged with other people to send their shipment and circulate them among youth,” he said.
The anti-narcotics department at Sharjah Police said they have interviewed the suspects and the cases have been referred to the public prosecution.
Brigadier Al Madhloum praised the efforts and cooperation between the various police departments in the UAE who played a significant role in the seizure.
Brigadier Al Madhloum said the Ministry of Interior made a significant commitment towards building drug control institutions and conducting anti-narcotics law enforcement operations.
