The Dubai police carried out Operation Scorpion, during which they seized the largest consignment of cocaine – 500 kg – from smugglers, worth 500 million dirhams (US $ 136 million). The footage from the operation site appeared on social networks the day before.
The drugs were hidden in the skin of a shipping container that arrived at the port of Dubai. During the operation, a citizen of one of the countries of the Middle East was detained, who controlled the transportation of cargo. According to some reports, the operation was carried out by order of the Israeli security forces.
The suspect was arrested red-handed. In addition to the container, a warehouse of narcotic substances was also found and arrested. As part of the operation, special forces conducted round-the-clock surveillance of the smuggler, tracking all his movements. It is noted that in his homeland he is known as a drug dealer and a criminal “element”.
In 2020, over 18 tons of drugs were seized in the United Arab Emirates. As previously reported by the UAE’s Federal Anti-Drug Trafficking Administration, 6,973 traffickers were arrested in the course of special operations.
According to the director general of the National Rehabilitation Center, Dr. Hamad Al Ghafri, in 2020 the number of drug addicts who have applied for rehabilitation has increased. Since its founding in 2002, the center has admitted 4,600 patients, and the recovery rate has grown to 66%.
In turn, the UAE prosecutor’s office recalled the punishments for the use and possession of drugs and psychotropic substances, on the basis of Federal Law No. 14 of 1995. According to the law, the use and storage of narcotic and psychotropic substances is punishable by imprisonment for a term of six months to two years.