Drug dealing tip-offs rose by a third after 2021 campaign, say Dubai Police

Officers recorded a 32 per cent increase in calls about illegal drugs, the force said

In December, Dubai Police seized Captagon pills hidden inside a shipment of lemons. The haul was worth $15.8 million. Photo: Dubai Police

Tip-offs from the public about drug dealing rose by almost a third as a result of a Dubai Police campaign last year.

The initiative ran from July 15 to November 1 and encouraged the public to share the names of drug dealers or anyone promoting the use of illegal substances.

Officers recorded a 32 per cent increase in calls about illegal drugs, Dubai Police said.

Lt Gen Abdullah Al Marri, the Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, called on the public to continue reporting any suspicious activity and urged them to share drug-related information with the force by ringing 901.

Dubai Police seize Captagon drugs hidden in lemons

He made the comments during an event at Expo 2020 Dubai about the force’s end-of-year report. It outlined how police aided the arrest of 19 international fugitives, blocked 75 profiles and websites for promoting or selling drugs, and helped to seize of hundreds of tonnes of illegal narcotics.

Anti-narcotics officers also seized more than 75 per cent of the total drugs confiscated by law-enforcement agencies in the UAE.

Officers also carried out more than 45 per cent of the total arrests in the country.

Last month, Dubai Police revealed they had foiled an attempt to smuggle more than a million Captagon pills into the emirate inside a shipment of lemons.

In the same month, Dubai Customs officers said they foiled an attempt to smuggle crushed Captagon pills worth Dh1.4 billion into the emirate.

The authorities at Dubai Customs’ Jebel Ali and Telecom Centre analysed data regarding a shipment coming into Jebel Ali Port and inspected the container on arrival. It was then that they discovered 1.5 tonnes of the illegal stimulant.

Captagon crisis: on the front line of UAE's war on drugs