DUBAI // Almost 1,000 people were arrested in the first half of this year for allegedly being involved in drug activities in the emirate, up from 946 during the same period last year.
Of the 977 people arrested, 419 were GCC nationals, 363 were western and 195 were other Arabs. Most people, 376, were arrested for using drugs, while 31 were detained for dealing. Ninety-four were caught promoting drugs, 129 for delivery, 330 for possession and 17 for smuggling.
Dubai Police recorded 748 drug seizure cases in the first six months, compared with 686 in the same period last year.
Police statistics show more than 120 kilograms of various drugs were seized, up from about 100kg in the same period a year earlier.
Seized were 35.5kg of marijuana, 33.9kg of cocaine, 33.4kg of heroin, 15kg of hashish and 2.3kg of poppy seeds.
More than 4.17 million narcotic pills were confiscated, down from 65.28 million in the same period last year.
Dubai Police said that it had also provided international authorities with 132 tip-offs.
One helped German authorities to seize 5kg of cocaine from a traveller. Another led to the seizure of 485kg of heroin on a boat in Australian waters.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
