Sharjah Customs seize 60kg of drugs after thwarting nine smuggling attempts

Illicit substances, including more than 14,000 illegal painkillers, were confiscated at Khalid Port

Port officials said the drugs were smuggled in various ways, including being hidden inside refrigerated containers. Photo: Sharjah Customs

Sharjah Customs thwarted nine drug trafficking attempts and seized more than 60kg of narcotics in the first three months of the year.

Officers confiscated 60.22kg of narcotics and 14,378 illegal painkillers that were discovered at Khalid Port in Sharjah.

The Sharjah Ports Customs and Free Zone Authority said the illicit substances were smuggled in various ways, including being hidden inside refrigerated containers.

Port inspection officers discovered the drugs when they arrived at the port.

Salem Al Zomor, director of the Khalid Port Customs Centre, said the continuous training of staff and the use of the latest technology and devices had played a pivotal role in efforts to clamp down on smuggling attempts.

“It enhanced the work and ensured a smooth flow of passengers and goods throughout the port points in Sharjah,” he said.

Inspectors at Khalid Port handle an extensive variety of cargo, including refrigerated food, agricultural products, live animals, dry and bulk goods, vehicles and heavy equipment.

This is not the first time a huge drug shipment has been seized in Sharjah.

Earlier this month, Sharjah Police arrested a criminal gang accused of using delivery drivers to distribute drugs.

Anti-narcotic officers arrested seven Asian citizens in connection with the plot in an operation carried out with the support of enforcement agencies across the emirates.

Police placed the gang under surveillance after receiving a tip but said it was unlikely the delivery riders had any knowledge of the goods they were transporting.

Elsewhere, in Abu Dhabi, three men were arrested after 2.25 million Captagon tablets were found in boxes labelled as dried apricots.

Abu Dhabi Police said smugglers planned to sell some of the drugs in the UAE and transport the rest to a neighbouring country.

The police operation was successful thanks to a comprehensive plan and co-operation with authorities across the country.

Officers tracked the movements of three men after being alerted of a plan to smuggle drugs.

They were arrested and the drugs, hidden in three different apartments in a neighbouring emirate, were confiscated.

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Handcuffed suspects and bags of drugs seized in Jeddah, where Saudi officials said they had thwarted an attempt to smuggle 12 million amphetamine pills. All photos: SPA

Members of the kingdom's General Directorate of Narcotics Control display bags of pills seized at Jeddah's port

The directorate publishes regular reports of drugs seizures