ABU DHABI: UAE authorities have foiled an attempt to smuggle 200,000 Captagon pills and more than 30 kilograms of other narcotics into the country, dismantling an international trafficking network involving 20 suspects, the Emirates News Agency reported on Friday.
The operation involved the National Drug Enforcement Authority, police forces in Ras Al-Khaimah, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman, and Iraq’s General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs, with judicial coordination from the UAE Public Prosecution.
The seized drugs included cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, marijuana, hashish and synthetic cannabinoids, also known as Spice, in addition to the Captagon pills.
The network had planned to bring the drugs into the UAE through a border area in Ras Al-Khaimah before distributing them across the country, authorities said.
The operation began after UAE and Iraqi agencies shared intelligence that uncovered the smuggling plan. Security teams then carried out a coordinated operation, arresting several suspects as they attempted to move the drugs into the country and detaining the remaining members in separate ambushes across the UAE.
The 20 suspects are of Gulf, Arab, African and Asian nationalities, WAM reported.
The National Drug Enforcement Authority said the operation dealt a blow to cross-border drug trafficking networks and highlighted the importance of intelligence-sharing and security cooperation with regional partners.
It urged the public to report suspicious activities, saying cooperation between communities and law enforcement agencies was essential to protecting society from the dangers of drugs.
