If there ever was a danger that upended normal lives, apart from the coronavirus that is, it is drug addiction. It has thrown millions of lives out of gear, the most vulnerable being youngsters.

And once the person falls victim to it, it is open season. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, as there seems to be no way he can get out of its vice-like grip. Deaddiction is a painful process, at least for the person on drug abuse; the withdrawal symptoms, better known as cold turkey, are a painful phase.

In short, it is a night without end. To make matters worse, lowlifes only add to the misery as they hawk the banned substance with gay abandon, compounding the distress of families. Drug cartels and smugglers look for new ways to sell their insidious product.

The idea then is to uproot the root, which is what the UAE earnestly believes in.

The UAE has been constantly scuppering the nefarious plans of lowlifes involved in drug smuggling operations. In 2019, its Operation Stalker led to nabbing two global drug smuggling gangs and unravelled their modus operandi of using spare parts of cars to conceal drugs. The drugs seized were worth over Dhs278 million.

The role of the UAE agencies and authorities in nixing the operations of drug smugglers is truly praiseworthy.

Last month, Dubai Police arrested a British national for being involved in a global drug smuggling operation. The arrest was made shortly after receiving an Interpol notice.

The UAE seeks to always protect the lives of the residents from all harmful influences. The aim is to see that the lives of the youth in particular are not turned topsy-turvy because of their addiction to drugs.

During the first five months of the year, inspectors at the General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs thwarted the smuggling attempts of 55,642 kilogrammes of narcotic and prohibited substances and 29,670 narcotic pills during the first five months of this year. This was because many countries are imposed lockdowns as part of the preventive measures to check the coronavirus and imposed travel curbs.

On the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on June 26 every year, Abu Dhabi Customs said there were over 100 seizures of drugs in the first five months of the year.

Among the contraband nabbed were narcotic substances, pills and other prohibited substances. This shot up the reports issued by the administration during the first five months of this year to 94.  During the same period last year, there were 417 seizure records.

When a passenger brings in banned substances, the expression on his face will be a giveaway. Security officials at the airport probe his mood and behaviour. In many cases, a nervy passenger who is a drug mule heaves in sight of a switched-on customs official, leading to his arrest and detention. Most of the smugglers are quite young, aged between 31 and 40 years.

Dubai Customs makes over 390 drug seizures:  In conjunction with the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which is observed every year on 26th June, Dubai Customs announced it has made 398 seizures during Q1, 2021.

In the first quarter of this year, the Sea Customs Centres Management made six seizures, the Inland Customs Centres Management made 35 seizures, Passenger Operations Department made 131 seizures, and the Air Cargo Centres Management made 226 seizures. In 2020, the government department made 1,118 seizures through different entry points in Dubai.

It goes to the credit of the security agencies in the UAE who are constantly on the alert to put the spanner in the works of these drug smugglers.