Drug hauls shoot up 125% till September

Total amount of drugs seized in the first nine months of this year has jumped by 125% from all of last year, a top official from Dubai Police told Emirates 24|7.

On the other hand, the total number of cases has dropped by 46% in the same period. "This shows that more drugs have been seized in less number of cases, and it is the result of stiff police raids and investigations," Major General Abdul Jaleel Mahdi, Director General of Dubai Police Anti-Narcotics Department said.

"In the first three quarters of this year, we have seized 922.442 kilos of drugs compared to 408.548 Kg in 2009. This is basically the fruit of our hard work and dedication," he said.

He added that the total number of cases in 2009 was 1,049 cases compared to 565 cases in the first three quarters of 2010.

"The total number of suspects also dropped by 45.5%. Foreigners topped the list of suspects in all drug cases in the emirate, followed by GCC nationals, and then Arabs."

He added: "In 2009, we arrested 1,483 suspects and this included 848 foreigners, 490 GCC nationals, 137 Arabs and 8 of unknown nationality. Meanwhile, in the first nine months of this year, we arrested 808 suspects. These included 429 foreigners, 303 GCC nationals, 72 Arabs and 4 unknown."

He pointed out that Dubai is not a consuming destination for drugs. It is mainly a transit for traders due to its good geographic location at the crossroad of the producing and consuming countries.

"It also has a very good airport and air routes and this makes it one of the perfect places for the transit of drugs in the region," he said.

He pointed out that there are many countries close to the emirate such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, and these are the major producers and exporters of narcotics in the region.

"These countries also store drugs for a long time for the purpose of export."

He added: "We combat drugs on two levels, local and International. We cooperate with international parties to arrest drug dealers and smugglers. We have achieved good results from such cooperation."