A joint operation between the UAE and Pakistan successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle 16 kilogrammes of heroin from Pakistan to the UAE. Eight Pakistani men have been arrested, according to the UAE Ministry of Interior. The operation, named “Thank you Pakistan”, was initiated following a tip-off received by the UAE authorities. The Pakistani authorities arrested seven people at two Pakistani airports with 15 kilogrammes of heroin. Another Pakistani national was arrested at Dubai International Airport with 104 capsules containing one kg of heroin. Lt General Saif Al Shafaar, undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, praised the Pakistani Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) and Special Investigation Services (SIS). Colonel Saeed Al Suwaidi, director general of Anti-Narcotics Department at the Ministry of Interior, said the anti-narcotics liaison office at the UAE embassy in Pakistan had received a tip-off from reliable sources that a group of Pakistanis was planning to smuggle the drug into the UAE. The smugglers, he added, had made five consecutive attempts, four through Pakistani airports and one through Dubai International Airport, to smuggle the drug but all were aborted thanks to the close coordination and cooperation between competent authorities in the two countries. The seven-member gang tried to hide the heroin in their suitcases and shoes. The man who was arrested at Dubai International Airport had swallowed the capsules. The gang wanted to sell the drugs inside the UAE, the official said.
