Dubai, June 07: The Dubai Police have foiled an attempt to smuggle 57kg of heroin worth Dh4.5 million to an African country and further to some European countries.
The police arrested two Africans and an Asian, and are chasing two Asians who fled the country before the police seized the contraband in March this year. Major-General Khamis Mattar Al Mazina, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, said that the suspects used a unique technique to smuggle the drugs from an Asian country. The heroin was hidden in 2,565 orange cartons and placed in containers in one of the UAE ports.
The gang agreed to smuggle the drugs from Dubai to the African country and from there to the European countries. Al Mazina said in a Press conference attended by Major-General Abdul Jalil Mehdi, Director of Anti-Narcotic Department, that the police seized 29kg of heroin hidden in 605 cartons from a warehouse in Dubai. While 14kg of the contraband was found in possession of the African suspects who were arrested from the Abu Shaghara area in Sharjah, another 14kg was recovered from a bag placed near a cargo company.
Al Mazina said that the police had received information that an African was in possession of large quantities of heroin and that he was planning to export it. He said that the police started monitoring the 30-year-old African suspect, who lived in Sharjah and where he stored the drugs. The police also identified the other gang members including a 36-year-old Asian who works as fisherman and a 32-year-old African who works as a salesman.
Two Asian businessmen were also included in the bid. He said that the first suspect was arrested from a workshop in Naif area and second suspect near Union Cooperative in Al Aweer. The third suspect was in his car in Hor Al Anz area when he was caught.
The African suspect confessed that he received a call from his country asking him to go to a warehouse in the vegetable market in Al Aweer to receive the oranges. The Asian suspect confessed that he smuggled the heroin from his country in coordination with the two absconding suspects. He said that he kept the cartons which contained drugs in the warehouse and sold the rest. Al Mazina said that the gang had smartly stuffed the heroin between two cartons.
The Dubai police is coordinating with the Asian country to extradite the two absconding suspects.
-Agencies