Sharjah Police detain traffickers with drug pills in intestines

The suspects arrested by the Sharjah Police at the airport were mostly Asians and Africans. - Alamy Image

A number of drug traffickers carrying drug pills in their intestines were detained at the Sharjah airport, according to officials.
An official said that the practice has become common as gangs consider it a safe method for drug trafficking. But trained officers at Sharjah airport had managed to arrest a number of suspects and bring down the phenomenon in 2017.
Drug traffickers are resorting to methods like this for smuggling after the police have intensified their efforts towards combating the crime and blocking them inside the country.
He said that the traffickers were often found to be very tired and confused in the airport or suffering from stomach pain. When the police suspect them as traffickers they would arrest them and take them for screening to confirm the doubt or a tip off they receive about them. "The drug traffickers are not aware of the risk of leaving the drug pills in their stomach for more than 24 hours as they could burst inside their bodies and cause immediate death," the official added.
The suspects arrested by the Sharjah Police at the airport were mostly Asians and Africans. The traffickers are paid money to swallow the drug bills and travel and when they reach the destination, an accomplice would give him some kind of a drink to get the drug pills out of their intestines.
Besides smuggling through the intestines of humans and animals, they resort to other methods such as hiding drugs between the contents of commercial goods being transported through sea and land.
Brigadier General Mohammad Rashid Bayat, director general of police operations at the Sharjah Police, said the UAE government deals with drug abuse and trafficking by enacting laws that criminalise narcotics. The UAE has also become active in the international and regional efforts to reduce the spread of drugs and prevent attempts to smuggle them inside the county
He added that the Sharjah Police, through its close cooperation with the anti-narcotic departments in all emirates, have been able to seize a large quantity of drugs and crack down on strongholds of abusers, traffickers and peddlers inside the country.
"Drugs begin with a dose, end with addiction and then lead to death," he added
He pointed out that all the lectures and activities of the awareness campaign titled 'Be with Your Children .they will be good' recently carried out by Sharjah Police in celebration of world Anti Narcotic day got positive results by blocking the way for drug dealers and reducing the demand. "This is indeed what we observe through the annual statistical report prepared in this regard."
The awareness is not limited just to the dangers of narcotic drugs and their effects on the individual and the community, but also to the rights of the addict who was surrendered by his family, in term of treatment.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com  
 

• Sharjah