Dubai: 28 arrested for trying to sell Dh32 million worth of drugs

The Dubai Police busted three drug trafficking rings that were planning to smuggle 111kg of narcotics into the country. Twenty-eight people of different nationalities were arrested, and drugs worth a whopping Dh32 million were seized, the authorities said on Friday.

The massive drug haul included more than half a million Captagon tablets weighing 99kg and 12kg crystal meth, heroin, and cannabis.

The Captagon tablets alone were found to be worth over Dh31 million, the police said.

The gangs were busted in separate operations, the Dubai Police said. The first one was a well-planned ambush that led to the arrest of three individuals.

In the second operation, one man was found in possession of 9.7kg of crystal meth and materials used in manufacturing the drug. He was caught selling narcotics by using an international mobile number. Khaleej Times recently exposed a 'drugs-via-WhatsApp' modus operandi — in which traffickers were caught offering the illegal substances by sending random messages to UAE residents. Thousands have already complained to the police, saying that no matter how many times they blocked the suspicious numbers, they keep on receiving the texts.

The third operation targeted a person who had been promoting drugs on social media. Caught with heroin capsules, the suspect led the police to 23 other people who were in possession of heroin, crystal meth, and hashish.

The Dubai Police warned the public about the growing drug menace on social media. Community members are urged to exercise caution when receiving messages from strangers. Any suspicious activity must be reported immediately.

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