Interpol nets $18m of drugs

An Interpol operation seized drugs worth $18 million (Dh66m) in two weeks and revealed new smuggling techniques.

Operation Lionfish, involving more than 2,000 police and customs officials across 14 countries, uncovered a network of West African and Asian crime groups that trafficked methamphetamine.

The drug is one of the most smuggled in the region.

Authorities were also alerted to increased smuggling of liquid cocaine in condoms, which drug mules swallow to make it harder for X-ray machines to detect. The operation hauled in about 350 kilograms, 50 litres and 2,175 tablets of narcotics such as cocaine, cannabis, heroin and amphetamine-like stimulants.

UAE customs officers have been involved in a series of narcotic seizures in recent months and believe they have the technology to catch smugglers.

In one case, agents found about 9kg of methamphetamine hidden in a consignment of soft toys, and a coordinated police sting between two countries led to the arrest of seven Africans, two Mongolians and four Chinese, said Interpol.

Since the discovery of liquid cocaine smuggling in the UAE, Interpol has issued, at the Government’s request, a Purple Notice to its 190 member countries that outlines the methods to detect drug smuggling.

The countries’ sharing of intelligence led to the arrests made in the operation and helped to identify a cocaine trafficking route via Ethiopia to destinations in the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.