Sting operation nets 78,000 Tramadol pills worth Dh800,000

Police have arrested three men who were found in possession of 78,000 Tramadol pills, and who intended to sell them to young people.

DUBAI // Investigators have seized 78,000 Tramadol pills worth Dh800,000 in a sting operation that led to the arrest of three men, police said today.

Police had received information that three men in Al Barsha south were in possession of large amounts of drugs, and that the men intended to sell the drugs to young people.

The three suspects were identified by police as AT and HA, both 31 and working as decor technicians, and AA, 32, a hotel employee, all from the same, unnamed Arab country.

The men were to arrive at a central bus station in the Al Barsha area, according to information received by police. After verifying the information, a police team headed to the location on January 9 at around 11.30am, police said.

Maj Gen Abdul Al Jaleel Al Mahdi, the head of the Dubai Police anti-narcotic department, said police waited in the area where one of the suspects had parked his car, and waited for them.

"The team surrounded them at their arrival," Maj Gen Al Mahdi said.

Initially, the suspects denied they possessed any illegal drugs. But after police searched the suspects and found a pill in HA's wallet, AT confessed that there was a box of Tramadol in the boot of his car.

Police also searched the room of AA, and at around 11.30pm the same day, they searched the Sharjah flat of AT and HA. A total of 78,000 Tramadol pills were found in possession of the three suspects.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with Sharjah Police.

"This case was only successful due to the cooperation between the two forces," Maj Gen Al Mahdi said.

AA confessed to police that he is the owner of the drugs, and that he found them on the roof of the hotel where he worked in the Deira area, investigators said. AA told AT about the drugs, and AT asked AA to keep them with him until he could hide them so they could sell them at a later time.

AA also gave some of the drugs to HA, who had previously sold drugs, police said.

AT and AA have been charged with possessing drugs, police said. HA was charged with drug abuse, as tests confirmed traces of the pill in his blood, police said. He was also charged with possession of drugs.

The case has been referred to prosecutors.