Arrested suspects photographed with the seized drugs.

The General Department of Anti-Narcotics at Dubai Police has recently foiled a big international drug trafficking operation in Al Ras at Dubai Creek harbour in an operation dubbed “LiStah”.

Operation “LiStah”- an Emirati dialect for the boat’s deck, was carried out by Dubai Police’s Control and Investigation team in coordination with the general department of criminal investigation, the general department of protective security and emergency and Dubai Customs.

Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, the Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, praised the efforts of all teams who carried out the operation in a careful and professional manner.

He also lauded their investigative skills in collecting vital security information and carrying out a professional inspection of the seized dhows.

Colonel Khaled Ali Bin Moyeza, Deputy Director of the General Department of Anti-Narcotics, pointed out that 12 Asian national suspects have been arrested from the two gangs, who possessed 194kg of drug-weight, which has been successfully seized.

"This operation was a severe and painful blow for all drug dealers", he added. 

Detained drug smugglers stand in front of seized drugs.

Smuggling Tactics

Major General Khalil Ibrahim Al-Mansouri, Assistant Commandant for Criminal Investigation Affairs at Dubai Police, the smugglers used different methods to hide drugs including modifying the structure of the first dhow in order to allocate it to drug trafficking.

“When the raid team boarded the boat, they found with the support of the of the Dubai Police specialized teams, large quantities of drugs hidden in different places between the wood panels under the deck of the boat, there were varieties of drugs including cannabis, crystal, opium, and heroin.” Maj-Gen Al-Mansouri added.

Major General Al Mansouri explained that members of the control and investigation team managed to arrest one of the gang members, who had entered the country as a visitor. “His real role is to receive drugs for storage and promotion among members of the community in the UAE,” “At his place, the suspect hid nine cylindrical plastic containers, containing large quantities of cannabis, crystal drugs and a scale, which confirms his criminal activity and his involvement in the trafficking and promoting drugs,” Maj-Gen Al-Mansouri said.

Maj-Gen Al-Mansouri added that in conjunction with the raid on the first boat, we were aware of another boat in the Dubai Creek marina with a number of sailors on board carrying a large quantity of drugs brought to the country for trafficking and promotion.