UAE: International Drug Smuggling Ring with 20 Suspects of Various Nationalities Brought Down

The Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported today that the National Anti-Drug Authority, in cooperation with several UAE police leadership entities—namely Ras Al Khaimah Police, Dubai Police, Sharjah Police, and Ajman Police—alongside the General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs at Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, and with judicial coordination from the Federal Public Prosecution, foiled an attempt to smuggle 200,000 Captagon tablets and more than 30 kilograms of narcotics into the country. The operation led to the dismantling of an international criminal network comprising 20 suspects of Gulf, Arab, African, and Asian nationalities.

The seized items, in addition to Captagon tablets, included various quantities of cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, marijuana, hashish, and Spice. The network had sought to smuggle these substances through a border area in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, with the aim of distributing them within the country.

Details of the operation began with intelligence exchanges between the relevant authorities in the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Iraq, which uncovered a plot by a multinational criminal network to smuggle large quantities of drugs into the UAE. Based on this intelligence, the National Anti-Drug Authority, in collaboration with relevant agencies, devised a comprehensive security plan that resulted in thwarting the smuggling operation and apprehending several network members caught in possession of the narcotics and attempting to smuggle them. The remaining suspects were arrested inside the country through security ambushes carried out by specialized units.