ABU DHABI: : UAE’s drug control agencies seized around 61.6 tonnes of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in 2017, said a senior official on Wednesday.
Lieutenant-General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chief of Police and Public Security in Dubai and Chairman of the Anti-Narcotics Council, said that 94 per cent of the seizures were the result of efforts of the police in the Ministry of the Interior.
He stressed that the police and anti-narcotics agencies in the country have exerted great efforts in the arrest of the accused and also in addressing the problem.
He was talking during a coordination meeting held at the Dubai Police Officers’ Club between the National Anti-Narcotics Council and members of Higher National Committees, in the presence of Major-General Abdullah Mohammed Al Niyadi, director-general of the Marine and Coastal Facilities Protection Authority.
The meeting reviewed the results of the performance indicators of the plan for the National Strategy for Drug Control of 2017, which were achieved by the various partners. The indicators and targets for the current year were discussed and briefed the audience on the statistics of drug seizures, their weights and types and the entries through the various ports. The members also analysed the capabilities of the drug control and detection equipment.
Lt-Gen Dhahi Khalfan called for intensified and unified efforts among all concerned parties to deal with the drug problem at the national level, including police, border guards, coast guard, customs officers and port officials.
