Bid to smuggle tramadol worth Dh337,000 foiled

The Dubai Customs recently foiled a bid to smuggle 49 rolls of heroin and opium, and more than 27,000 Tramadol pills, worth over Dh337,000 as per black market price, at Al Hamriya Port.

Butti Al Zafri, Director of Coastal Customs Centres at the Dubai Customs, told Khaleej Times that the contraband seized on November 12, was hidden in seeds bags onboard a wooden ship coming from an Asian country.

Customs inspectors suspected the contents of some goods, particularly 30 packs of frozen shrimps and 150 bags of seeds. “Taking a closer look at the bags of seeds, 84 Tramadol boxes, with 27,298 pills, were found hidden.”

Adding, Al Zafri said 49 rolls containing heroin were extracted from the shrimp packs. The Customs K9 Unit was summoned along with the Mobile Lab, which has cutting-edge equipment to accurately detect narcotics.

“The result was positive indicating that the rolls contained pure heroin weighing 11.3gm. A glass bottle containing liquid opium weighing 139gm was also found.”

Elaborating, Al Zafri said one of the crew members denied anything to do with the narcotics seized.

“He claimed to be only a carrier and his job was to deliver the goods to some people in the UAE who would circulate them among youngsters.”

The suspect and the seizure were transferred to the General Department of Anti-Narcotics at Dubai Police for legal action.

Early in August this year, the Dubai Customs foiled a bid to smuggle about 52 million restricted tablets at the Jebel Ali Port. The seizure contained 4.2 million Tramadol pills, worth around Dh75.6 million as per black market price, which are strictly prohibited by the Cabinet’s decree No 15/2011.

“Medical reports show that Tramadol can cause shortness of breath, skeletal muscles relaxation, comma, convulsions, low blood pressure and heart failure leading to death,” Al Zafri said.

ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com