Visitors gets 10 years behind bars over drugs in Dubai

Sohaila Ahmed, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced an Asian visitor to 10 years jail, and payment of a Dhs50,000 fine followed by deportation, for smuggling 586g of heroin in his stomach.

A switched-on customs officer noticed the nervy behaviour of the visitor and, doubting his moves, asked him to undergo a body scan. He found suspicious-looking substances inside his stomach.

When interrogated, the suspect confessed to smuggling the heroin into the UAE.

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Recently, the Dubai Police Anti-Narcotics Department has thwarted the biggest drug trafficking operation worldwide (Pule2), involving 5.6 tonnes of Captagon pills worth Dhs1.8 billion.

On Wednesday, a press conference organised by Dubai Police revealed details of the arrest, in which a gang of four, headed by a 70 year-old Arab man, was attempting to smuggle the drugs in steel cable reels and export it to another Gulf country.

The gang leader was found to receive money and help from charity associations.

Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, said that they have received a tip about a drug shipment from Syria, and immediately worked with Dubai Customs to track down the suspected truck.