Drug crime rate increases by 7 per cent

Lt. Col Majjid Al Assam, deputy director of anti-narcotics department at Sharjah Police, said that in 2017, they handled 767 drug cases, compared to 712 in 2016 — a seven per cent increase.

The drugs’ seizures during 2017 amounted to about 9.5 million pills and narcotics to about 400kg, with a market value of about Dh515million. He added that the department carried out 57 awareness-raising activities, including lectures, exhibitions and programmes in cooperation with various sectors.

Meanwhile, Colonel Ahmed Al Serkal, director of Sharjah Police forensic laboratory, said that the lab has helped crack 12,545 ‘mysterious’ cases in 2017.