Ras Al Khaimah: A suspected drug mule was arrested at the airport here for trying to bring in 167 heroin capsules he had ingested as part of a ruse to avoide detection.
Ras Al Khaimah Police operatives arrested the Asian man after the suspected drug mule behaved strangely and police officers detained him upon arrival.
On being interrogated, he confessed to having swallowed the heroin pills in a bid to smuggle them into the UAE.
He was taken to a hospital where the capsules were removed from his stomach and he was referred to the public prosecution.
The 167 heroin capsules weighed around 2kg and are worth more than Dh700,000.
Colonel Adnan Ali Al Zaabi, Director-General of the Ras Al Khaimah Police’s Anti-Narcotics Department, said police were tipped off about the suspect, who was visiting the country.
A team was formed to follow up the case.
The team monitored the movements of the passenger upon his arrival at the airport. The passenger seemed worried and scared.
When taken for questioning, the man confessed he had capsules in his stomach.
The suspect admitted that he had received the capsules from two people from his country and they paid him a huge a mount of money for each capsule he swallowed.
Col. Al Zaabi said smuggling capsules in the abdomen is dangerous and can sometimes result in the death of the person.
Brigadier Ghanem Ahmad Ghanem, Director General of Central Operations , lauded the cooperation of police departments in the country.
He said this is one of the innovative ways used by smugglers, but the alertness of the officers helped foil another smuggling attempt
