712kg of drugs seized in Dubai in first six months of 2020

Dubai: The anti-narcotics unit of Dubai Police have seized 712kg of drugs and arrested 1,176 suspects in the first half of 2020, data showed.

Lt General Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri, Commander-In-Chief of Dubai Police, praised the efforts of the officers in the battle against drug dealers during a meeting with senior officers to evaluate the work of Anti-Narcotic Department.

Official data showed that drugs that were seized include cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, opium, marijuana and illegal painkillers.

In 2019, Dubai Police seized 1,560kg of drugs worth Dh1.5 billion and arrested 3,128 addicts and dealers.

Moreover, Dubai Police provided information about drug smuggling attempts outside the country by providing 36 tip-offs to different countries, which helped arrest 16 suspects and the seizure of 2.049 tonnes of drugs and 2,706 illegal painkillers.

Web presence

Dubai Police also blocked 39 websites in the first six months of 2020 in the continuing push to curb online purchases of illegal drugs from outside the UAE.

Police said that the electronic patrols monitor the internet every day to detect the suspicious sites, and then coordinate with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to block them.