The UAE National Anti-Narcotics Agency carried out a joint operation with police forces in Dubai, Sharjah, and the Kingdom of Bahrain and dismantled a narcotics distribution network. The month-long operation resulted in the arrest of 13 suspects of Asian and African nationalities, the agency said.

The leader of the group, an overseas-based Asian drug trafficker, was arrested abroad and extradited to the UAE. Authorities seized 56.623 kilograms of narcotics, 8,159 psychotropic tablets, and a substantial quantity of electronic cigarettes laced with hashish oil. The total estimated value of the confiscated items is approximately AED 3.3 million.

The agency said that with the help of security agencies in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the leader of the criminal gang outside the country was arrested and brought to the UAE and an appropriate punishment was imposed on him. “The operation lasted for a month, with tight field searches, investigations and surveillance, during which the teams monitored the movements of the defendants and coordinated among them. Investigations showed that they received instructions from a drug dealer outside the country, to distribute quantities of drugs in different areas in the country,” the agency said

The National Narcotics Control Agency stated that the total seizures of narcotic substances amounted to 56.623 kilograms of narcotic substances, in addition to 8,159 tablets of narcotic psychotropic substances, and a large quantity of electronic cigarettes packed with hashish oil, with a total value of approximately 3,300,000 dirhams, stressing that the National Drug Control Agency will continue its efforts to enhance the protection and security of the community from this dangerous scourge.

UAE National Anti-Narcotics Agency arrests 13, busts criminal gang