Sharjah foils bid to smuggle 215kg of drugs worth Dhs35 million

SHARJAH: The Sharjah Police have successfully thwarted a drug-trafficking operation of 215kg of heroin and crystal meth worth Dhs35 million, which were being smuggled into the country through a boat.

The drugs were found hidden under the wooden vessel’s deck.

“A confidential source tipped off the antinarcotics team about the near arrival of a ship filled with smuggled drugs to Port Khalid in Sharjah during last week,” Lieutenant Colonel Majid Al Asam, Director of the Anti-narcotics Department at Sharjah Police, said.

The operation named “Poisoned Rope” was the fruit of a successful collaboration between the Sharjah Police and the Federal Drug Control Administration, the emirate’s Critical Infrastructure and Coastal Protection Unit, aiming to bust the drug-trafficking atempt.

The boat was immediately raided and swamped with police officers who arrested an Asian gang of six men.

Asam pointed out that on being confronted the six defendants confessed to bringing narcotics into the country for storage and distribution.

Accordingly, the defendants and the seized items were referred to the competent authority for necessary legal action.

209kg of crystal meth and 6.9kg of heroin were found hidden between the wooden panels under the boat’s deck.

The gang’s plan was to smuggle the drugs and sell them in the UAE.

Colonel Asam said, “Investigations are carried out to identify the suspect buyers who were to receive the drugs.”

In May this year, the Anti-narcotics Department of the Sharjah Police seized more than 115kg of narcotics and psychoactive drugs, and more than 51,000 psychotic pills.

The Operation, codenamed “Rased” foiled the gang of seven suspected drug suppliers who are all Asian nationals, leading to their arrest.

The department was tipped off about a large quantity of the illicit substances being smuggled into the UAE through its territorial waters within the jurisdiction of Sharjah.

Accordingly, several teams of specialists were formed to seize the drugs in collaboration and coordination with the Critical Infrastructure and Coastal Protection Authority (CICPA).

“The gang members were identified and tracked acrossdifferentemirates,astheyplannedtosmuggle the drugs during Eid holidays, thinking they would go unnoticed by authorities,” Asam had said.

Asam had also called on members of the community to work together with police and report any noticedsuspiciousactivitiesonthenumber8004654 or through the e-mail dea@shjpolice.gov.ae.