A staggering 15-20 per cent of the total opium produced in Afghanistan finds its way to the Gulf from Iran, UN Regional Representative for Drugs and Crime, Middle East and North Africa, Mohammad Abdul Aziz told XPRESS.
According to a conventional estimate, this figure could be anywhere between 1,500 and 1,600 tonnes per year.
Abdul Aziz made this revelation on the sidelines of the Arab Symposium for Planning and Strategic Cooperation to Combat Drugs organised by the UAE Ministry of Interior.
Abdul Aziz said while the UAE has a good mechanism to prevent drugs from entering the country because of strict checks at airports, some of the consignments manage to slip in through land and sea as monitoring them is difficult.
"The strategic location of Dubai coupled with its booming economy and high individual income make it a potential market for a highly organised drug network.
"Of late a large number of drug- related cases have come to light. This is a reflection of how efficient Dubai authorities are in combating drug smuggling and trading," he said.
Captain Hasan Rashid Al Shamsi, Director of Anti-narcotics Department at the Ministry of Interior, said since last year UAE authorities have seized 240kg of heroin, 13kg of opium, 1,286kg of hashish and around three million pills during attempts to bring these into the UAE from neighbouring countries. He said 3,869 suspects were held for drug-related crimes.
"Combating crime is a science, dealing with it is an art, curbing it is a duty, and coordination among Arabs is a target," said Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief.
"The cooperation of Arab countries to curb drugs is miserable," he said. Lt Gen Dahi also urged the need to unite efforts to fight the drug menace in the Arab world and share information about drug cartels so that they could help destroy their network.
Opium Growers
165,000 hectares of opium grown in Afghanistan in 2006; farmlands used to grow opium increased to 59 per cent from 33 per cent in 2005
1,545 hectares of opium grown in Pakistan (59 per cent of the opium farms were destroyed last year)
