Sharjah Police aim to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs and substance abuse.

Sohaila Ahmed, Staff Reporter

The Anti-Narcotics Department of the Sharjah Police General Directorate have achieved positive outcome in the first quarter of 2019, as part of its awareness-raising work plan which aims to raise awareness of the dangers of drug and substance use by school and university students, athletes of sports clubs, and employees of government sectors.

The excessive efforts made are part of the implementation of Sharjah Police’s strategy, and in line with the Ministry of Interior’s vision to make sure that the UAE is one of the best countries in the world in terms of safety and security.

Lt. Col. Mohammad Ahmed Al Khamiri, Director of the Awareness and Rehabilitation section of the Sharjah Police said: “We aim to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs and substance abuse among students of public and private school, employees of government departments and members of sports clubs in the emirate.”

This comes within the framework of the preventive and educational aspect of the management to raise awareness of the harm caused by substance abuse, in which a series of awareness programmes were organised during the first quarter of this year 2019. The programmes included many events and lectures, in addition to holding a number of workshops that aim to deliver awareness messages to the largest number of people, and the outcome was positive compared to the results of the first quarter of year 2018.

Lt. Col. Al Khamiri pointed out that Sharjah Police will carry on efforts made to achieve its objectives of protecting members of the community by introducing several developmental plans which will contribute to the success of such goals. He also stressed on the great success achieved through these awareness campaigns in raising the awareness of the community regarding the serious danger that may result from the use of drugs and substances.

Recently, Sharjah Police’s special teams from the Anti-Economic Crime Department of the Criminal Investigation Department successfully nabbed a gang who attempted to trade in counterfeit bills of Dhs100 and 200 at grocery shops and gas stations in the emirate. The counterfeit bills were worth Dhs45,500.

Details of the incident came after it was reported that a group of Asians were trying to use counterfeit currency to purchase items. Based on such information, investigation teams were formed and successfully managed to trace the suspects, their location and their identity.