UAE: Traveller caught with 8.7kg drugs at Sharjah airport

The Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zones Authority on Wednesday announced that it had foiled an attempt to smuggle 8.716kg of narcotics at Sharjah International Airport.

Customs officers at Sharjah Airport Customs Centre became suspicious of cardboard packages belonging to a passenger, and upon closer inspection, they discovered the packages contained 10,934 narcotic tablets, with a total weight of 8.716kg, hidden inside lighting equipment.

A case was filed, and the seized materials were handed over to the relevant authorities for legal action.

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The authority commended the inspection officers and staff at the customs centre for their vigilance, heightened security awareness, and firm stance against smugglers and those attempting to bring prohibited materials through Sharjah’s customs ports.

The UAE has a zero-tolerance policy towards the recreational use of drugs, strictly enforced by the law* on Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances. The law criminalises the production, import, export, transport, purchase, sale, possession, and storage of narcotic and psychotropic substances unless conducted as part of supervised and regulated medical or scientific activities in compliance with applicable laws.

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