Four Indians arrested in Rs 72 cr drug haul

The Dubai police have seized a staggering 13.7 tonnes of hashish worth Rs 72 crore in what may be the world's largest drug haul and arrested four Indians and five Afghans. The four Indians arrested owned shipping companies in whose containers the drugs were concealed and brought to Dubai which was used as a transit point for the drugs originating from Afghanistan and destined for several countries, media reports said quoting Dubai police.

Giving details of the busting of the trail covering four continents, including countries such as Canada, Australia, Holland, Yemen, Sharjah besides Dubai, a senior police officer Sharafuddin al Sayed Sharaf said the kingpin of the drug racket was still at large but the hunt was on to nab him.

"Dubai police in coordination with a number of friendly countries were following this trail for the last five months. ...When the shipments arrived at Port Rashid, personnel from the anti-narcotics department inspected the containers."

"We found the hashish hidden in false compartments of 17 containers and confiscated 3.634 tonnes of hashish. We seized five containers and let the other 12 pass through to the various destinations. We monitored the shipments throughout the journey and alerted authorities of the other countries who seized the drugs," he said.

Drug trafficking is punishable by death in the UAE. Bureau Report