Dubai drug hauls up as city becomes smuggling hotspot

HEROIN HAUL: Dubai has become a transit point for drug smugglers, says top policeman. (Getty Images)

Drug hauls are up significantly this year in Dubai, a sign the Gulf Arab emirate has become a transit point for traffickers, a top policeman said.

Smugglers, who often alter transit routes, have been using Dubai for the last months to smuggle drugs from producing countries to Europe and East Asia, said Abdul-Jaleel Mahdi, head of Dubai police's anti-narcotics department.

"We are a transit country. Our geographic location, the facilities at our airports and ports, and the proximity of producing and transit countries has an impact," he told Reuters in an interview on Sunday.

Police seized 41 percent more drugs in January to May than in the same period last year, but traffickers were now changing routes again as police tighten security in the emirate and cooperate with police in countries such as Pakistan.

The so-called "Golden Crescent" of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan is a main source of opium production in Asia. Pakistan is seen as a transit country for smugglers who transport drugs from Afghanistan, Mahdi said.

Dubai have police caught 467 people in connection to drug trafficking this year, a third up on early last year, with heroin the main drug seized. The number of drug-related cases was also up a fifth to 288, against 242 last year.

Mahdi said an increase in the number of local drug dealers and regional traffickers was also linked to the rise.

"The financial crisis may have played a role in the increase, as unemployment levels rose and the number of people involved in financial disputes increased," said Mahdi. "Also the war in Pakistan led to weaker security."

Around 2 million people have fled fighting in northwest Pakistan since early May after the military launched an offensive against Taliban insurgents.

In 2007, Afghanistan produced about 93 percent of the world's opium, from which heroin is made.

Drugs are still hard to get hold of in the UAE, Mahdi said. The government runs rehabilitation centres for UAE nationals, but does not provide comprehensive statistics on usage.

Trafficking laws are less draconian than other countries. Locals can be jailed for up to four years; expatriates found consuming or smuggling are jailed then deported. In neighbouring Saudi Arabia traffickers are beheaded. (Reuters)

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