Drug smuggling

Sharjah Police detain traffickers with drug pills in intestines


An official said that the practice has become common as gangs consider it a safe method for drug trafficking.

A number of drug traffickers carrying drug pills in their intestines were detained at the Sharjah airport, according to officials.

An official said that the practice has become common as gangs consider it a safe method for drug trafficking. But trained officers at Sharjah airport had managed to arrest a number of suspects and bring down the phenomenon in 2017.

Drug traffickers are resorting to methods like this for smuggling after the police have intensified their efforts towards combating the crime and blocking them inside the country.

He said that the traffickers were often found to be very tired and confused in the airport or suffering from stomach pain. When the police suspect them as traffickers they would arrest them and take them for screening to confirm the doubt or a tip off they receive about them. "The drug traffickers are not aware of the risk of leaving the drug pills in their stomach for more than 24 hours as they could burst inside their bodies and cause immediate death," the official added.