Smuggling drugs in intestine becomes ‘common practice’
sharjah — A number of drug traffickers carrying drug pills in their intestines were detained at the Sharjah airport, according to officials.
An official said that the practice has become common as trafficking gang considered it a safe method for drug trafficking. But trained officers at Sharjah airport had managed to arrest a number of suspects and bring down the phenomenon in 2017.
Drug traffickers are resorting to methods like this for smuggling after the police have intensified their efforts to combating the crime and blocking them inside the country.
He said that the traffickers were often found to be very tired and confused at the airport or suffering from stomach pain. When the police suspect them as traffickers they would arrest them and take them for screening to confirm the doubt or a tip-off they receive about them. “The drug traffickers are not aware of the risk of leaving the pills in their stomach for more than 24 hours as it could burst inside their bodies and cause them immediate death,” the official added.
The suspects arrested by the Sharjah Police at the airport were mostly Asians and Africans. The traffickers are paid money to swallow the drug pills and travel, and when they reach the destination an accomplice would give them some kind of drink to get the drug pills out of the intestine.
Besides smuggling inside the intestines of humans and animals, they resort to other methods such as hiding drugs between the contents of commercial goods being transported through sea and land.
Brigadier-General Mohammad Rashid Bayat, director-general of police operations at the Sharjah Police, said the UAE government deal with drug abuse and trafficking by enacting strict laws. The UAE has also become active part in international and regional efforts to reduce the spread of drugs and prevent attempts to smuggle it into the county
He added that the Sharjah Police, through its close cooperation with anti-narcotic departments in all emirates, have been able to seize a large quantity of drugs and crack down on strongholds of abusers, traffickers and peddlers inside the country.
Brig. Al Bayat said: “The traders target the UAE because of unbalanced demographics, wealth and high level of individual income, which makes us exert maximum efforts to protect the future of our youth from this scourge, which permeates our societies.
“Drugs begin with a dose, end with addiction, then lead to death,” he added.
He pointed out that all the awareness lectures and activities of the campaign titled ‘Be with Your Children… They will be good’ recently carried out by the Sharjah Police in celebration of world Anti-Narcotic Day brought their positive fruits by blocking the way for drug dealers and reducing the demand. “This is indeed what we observe through the annual statistical report prepared in this regard.”
The awareness is not limited to the awareness on the dangers of narcotic drugs and their effects on the individual and the community, but also awareness about the rights of the addict who was surrendered by his family, in term of treatment.
The traders target the UAE because of unbalanced demographics, wealth and high level of individual income, which makes us exert maximum efforts to protect the future of our youth.” Brigadier-General Mohammad Rashid Bayat, director-general of police operations, Sharjah Police