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Biggest drug haul

DUBAI — Officers from the Dubai Police and Dubai Customs have recovered over 750kg of hashish and 57kg of heroin worth billions of dirhams in four separate hauls during this month. Fifteen people have been arrested in connection with the seizures.

The suspects have been referred to the Dubai Public Prosecution on charges of drug possession and trafficking, revealed Brigadier Khamis Mattar Al Mazina, Director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation of the Dubai Police, during a Press conference yesterday at the Dubai Police Headquarters.

According to Brig Al Mazina, in the first case the Dubai Police Drugs Combating Department, in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Police Anti-Narcotics Department and Ras Al Khaimah Police, arrested a Pakistani man on September 16 who was in possession of 200kg of hashish.

The arrest came after the Dubai Police had received information that a Pakistani man called A.Kh was looking for a buyer. The accused was arrested while he was in the process of delivering the drugs to a decoy customer. On interrogation, the accused confessed that besides the 200kg of drugs that was found on him, he had another 300kg of hashish buried in his house in the Al Nakheel area in Ras Al Khaimah. The police immediately raided the accused's house and seized 300kg of hashish.

He revealed that he had received the drugs from another Pakistani man who had left the country.

In the second case, two Afghan nationals who had arrived at Dubai International Airport on September 19 carrying 69 bags of almonds, aroused the suspicion of the officers from the Drugs Combating Department. A search of their luggage revealed over 40kg of heroin concealed among the almond packets.

A Dubai Customs official confirmed that at 8.10pm on September 19, the officers intercepted the passengers who had flown in aboard Ariana Airlines from Kandahar, Afghanistan. They were found to be carrying 47kg of heroin estimated to be worth millions of dollars.

The official said the alertness of the officers prevented the drugs from being smuggled into the country, because the X-ray machines had cleared the suspected baggage. The Customs officers noticed the smell of glue emanating from the bags and a search led to the startling discovery of the drugs that had been expertly embedded into the almonds.

Director-General of Dubai Customs Ahmed Butti Ahmed commended the efforts of the Customs officers in effecting the seizure.

During interrogation, the two men confessed that they had brought the heroin from their country.

Yousuf Al Audaidi, Acting Director of Drugs Combating Section in Dubai Police, disclosed that the traffickers had peeled the almonds after boiling them. They then stuffed the almonds with heroin.

In the third case, the Dubai Police Drugs Combating Department were tipped off on September 23 that A.F., an Afghan national in Dubai was in possession of 250kg of hashish and was looking for a buyer. A team of officers was set up to trap the suspect. An undercover agent approached the suspect and agreed to buy the hashish from him for Dh13,000 a kg. The suspect took the bait. He was caught red-handed while delivering the hashish to the undercover agent.

During interrogation, the accused confessed he had hidden another 250kg of hashish in Al Buraimi area in the Sultanate of Oman. The Dubai Police, with cooperation from Oman Police, seized the hidden consignment and arrested nine people in connection with the case.

In the fourth case , the Dubai Police Drugs Combating Department received information on September 24 that an Iranian, identified as M.D., was in possession of 10kg of heroin and was looking for a buyer who could pay Dh800,000.

A police detective posing as a buyer agreed to meet the accused near Al Ghurair Center. On meeting, the accused called two Pakistani nationals, L.B. and D.W., who brought the heroin and delivered it to the undercover agent. The suspects were immediately nabbed.