Colourless, tasteless, odourless: Dubai warns of new drug smuggling methods disguised as drinks and papers

The Dubai Public Prosecution Office has revealed the innovative methods used by drug dealers to smuggle toxic substances into the local market. They confirmed that these substances are manufactured professionally, which makes them more difficult to detect and poses a grave threat, particularly to young people.

During a press interview at the "Legal Chats" session, Abdullah Saleh Al Raisi, Assistant Chief Prosecutor at the Dubai Drug Prosecution, said that some of these toxins are manufactured as ordinary-looking papers saturated with extremely dangerous chemicals or marketed as counterfeit energy drinks bearing well-known trademarks.

He explained that the most dangerous aspect of these substances is that they are colourless, tasteless and odourless, meaning they can be mixed into drinks without the user's knowledge. This renders them completely unconscious, making them easy prey for greater dangers.

He emphasised that this phenomenon requires increased societal awareness and close cooperation between families and the relevant authorities, particularly given that traffickers do not differentiate between adults and children when targeting their victims.

Al Raisi recounted one of the cases handled by the Public Prosecution Office. A well-mannered, high-achieving university student fell victim to bad friends who encouraged him to try drugs for the first time, claiming it would only be a "passing experience". However, this led him down a dark path that resulted in the unravelling of his life, the loss of his academic prospects and his sudden death from an overdose.

Al Raisi said, "This painful story demonstrates that drug use, even just once, can be enough to destroy a person's future and their entire life."

He added that the way crime is approached has changed, with drugs now being packaged in a way that makes them look like consumer products or energy drinks. In reality, they are deadly poisons that infiltrate society surreptitiously. He emphasised the importance of family supervision and of knowing where children and their friends are. He also stressed the need to raise health awareness in schools and universities about the dangers of these substances.