DUBAI // Three men from Syria denied having anything to do with a haul of more than six million illegal amphetamine-like pills discovered by police hidden inside water pipes, Dubai Criminal Court heard.
A total of 6.5 million Captagon pills worth almost Dh65 million were found by officers who searched a lorry in Ras Al Khor after acting on a tip off.
Prosecutors said that on November 23 last year, 29-year-old A Y imported the drugs in 165 large pipes. E A, 35, and A S, 31, were both charged with possessing the drugs. All three men claimed they did not know the pipes had anything illegal hidden inside.
Anti-Narcotics officer M S testified that he was assigned to oversee a sting operation involving the men and a police source.
“E A was in contact with a police source and he met with him in the fruit and vegetable market in Al Aweer then went with him to Ras Al Khor,” the policeman said.
He added that E A showed the police source the truck where the pills were hidden then left.
“Searching the truck, it contained pipes that were custom-made for smuggling the drugs. There was an outer pipe and an inner pipe welded together, and in between the two there was a vacuum where the pills were stashed,” said the officer, adding that E A was then arrested.
“E A told us that A S introduced him to the drugs’ owner in Syria who told E A that only A S knew how to get the drugs out of the pipes,” the officer said.
The drugs came into Dubai through Jebel Ali Port, after which E A moved them to Fujairah. Here, they were stored for about a month before being brought back to Dubai to be delivered to the police source.
A S was arrested at his work place in Al Aweer. During interrogations he denied knowing E A. Records did not mention when and how A Y was arrested.
The next hearing will be on October 4.
salamir@thenational.ae
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League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
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- Ban fruit juice and sodas
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- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
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Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
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Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
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Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
