DUBAI // More than five tonnes of hashish worth Dh50 million has been seized with the help of Dubai Police, in what is the biggest haul of the drug in the world this year.
Dubai Police’s Anti-Narcotics Department shared crucial information with the US consulate that a ship from an Asian country carrying 5,364 kilograms of hash was heading towards west Africa.
“The narcotics were not intended to pass through the UAE but the police felt it was necessary to share the information with the relevant authorities as a duty towards the international community,” said police chief Maj Gen Khamis Al Muzeina.
“The coalition naval forces were able, on September 18, to intercept the boat carrying the narcotics and arrest 14 suspects. The Anti-Narcotics Department received a thank-you letter from the head of the coalition force for its collaboration and loyal efforts to provide important intelligence that contributed the success of the operation.”
The Combined Task Force comprises countries from all over the world, including the US, the UK, Japan and Germany.
Maj Gen Al Muzeina said that the coalition naval forces raided the ship in early September after Dubai Police’s tip-off but did not find any drugs.
“We insisted that Dubai Police’s information and sources were accurate, after which they intercepted the boat on September 18 and found the hash,” said Maj Gen Al Muzeina.
The police chief said that Sheikh Saif, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, had followed the case closely and that the UAE’s leadership wanted to combat drugs and keep its residents safe from criminal activity.
Maj Gen Al Muzeina said that all the suspects were handed over to the country from which the boat sailed, where they would face the relevant legal procedures.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae