Muscat: The Royal Oman Police (ROP) have arrested three drug peddlers of Asian origin from Batinah region in the north of Oman.
“The arrests were part of our continuous crackdown against drug peddlers as well as addicts,” a spokesperson for the ROP said.
He added that in the latest raid, based on a tip-off, they had arrested three expatriates from an Asian country. “They have been charged with smuggling and encouraging drug sales in Oman’ he added.
The police arrested one accused and recovered 141 capsules filled with heroin in his possession. He led to two others and 42 more capsules were recovered. The police didn’t divulge the actual quantity and market value of the drug confiscated from the accused.
The police further said that one of the accused among the three arrested was in touch with the drug traffickers from outside the country and was working as one of the main contact points in Oman. “He was mainly involved in creating a network for selling drugs among the addicts across the country,” he said.
The police officers from the Narcotics Department also arrested an Omani in Hamriya suburb of Muscat during their various raids on hideouts of drug addicts last week.
Working on a tip-off, the police caught the Omani accused and an unspecified amount of capsules filled with heroin was found on him.
While the Narcotics department’s campaign against the drug addicts and peddlers continues within Oman, the vigilant officers at the Muscat International Airport to foil any attempt to smuggle drugs into Oman.
The police last week caught a woman of Asian nationality with 32 capsules of heroin hidden in her guts. “The movement of the accused was suspicious so police interrogated her on her arrival at the airport and then was taken to the ROP Hospital in Qurum,” her added.
The X-rays revealed the woman looked very uncomfortable at the airport because she had swallowed 32 capsules of heroin.
The ROP has urged all citizens as well as Oman residents to help police combat drug peddlers by informing police if they see any drug-related activity.
