• Home

War on drug pays as cases decline

Two youths died of drug overdoses last year, according to figures released by Sharjah Police yesterday.

Brigadier Saleh Ali Al Mutawa, the Sharjah Police chief, said efforts to fight the menace benefited enormously from the plans and programmes of the Interior Ministry.

Officials said there were 110 drug-related cases in Sharjah last year, which included 51 drug possession cases and 28 drug abuse cases (both making up 71.9 per cent of the cases). Drug abuse cases saw a decline of 21 cases compared to last year’s figures. Those who died as a result of overdose were two; one of them is a UAE national.

Brig. Mutawa said: “The decline in the number of drug cases (by 12 cases compared to 2003) came as a result of strong security operations and the intensive media campaigns aimed at fighting drugs. We have worked to expand the campaigns to be included in festivals and on many occasions in the emirate, besides giving focused attention to individuals being rehabilitated after giving up the menace”. He added that these efforts have been successful in cleaning up society.

Lieutenant-Colonel Obaid Al Shamsi, acting Director of the Anti-Narcotics Division at Sharjah Police, said the annual report issued by the police administration showed that 574.9 kg of hashish, 29.6 kg of heroin, 1.4 kg of opium and 2,196 narcotic pills were seized in police operations last year, besides various quantities of other drugs.

He said 186 people were arrested in drug related cases. Of them, 25.45 per cent were involved in drug abuse, 46.36 per cent in possession, 14.5 per cent in smuggling and 5.45 per cent in peddling, he added.

• UAE