Pubdate: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 Source: Gulf News (UAE) Copyright: 2009, Al Nisr Publishing, LLC Contact: http://www.gulfnews.com/aboutus/contact/letter_to_editor.html Website: http://www.gulfnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1604 Author: Siham Al Najami NEW PLAN TO FIGHT DRUG TRAFFICKING Dubai: The Anti-Narcotics General Department has formed new sections and strategies to deal with the growing problem of drug trafficking. Dubai Police has blocked many international sites and online forums in order to thwart drug trafficking and peddlers, who use these sites and forums to hold sale transactions, in particular those taking place abroad, said Brigadier Abdul Jaleel Mahdi, Director of the Anti-Narcotics General Department. The department used to be part of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). He said 440 people were deported in 2008 for possessing drugs for personal consumption. The Dubai Police's anti-narcotics department has seized over the past year about 298.725 kilograms of drugs, including heroin, hashish and opium. They have also arrested 1,332 people on charges of possession and drug smuggling who are mainly of Asian and African nationalities. While the total number of cases dealt with by the police during the same period was 1,102. "The administration is intensifying efforts to prevent the flow of drugs into the country, whether it is for trafficking or re-exporting it to other countries. "This is done by monitoring and following-up on tips received in this regard by cooperating with relevant bodies in other countries to reach the gangs involved in drug trafficking as well as following up on the leads on online sites and forums by specialists in the department to identify any attempt to trade through the internet," he said. According to Brigadier Mahdi, the new strategy of the department is to reduce the demand for drugs by creating awareness in the society about the dangers of addiction and by monitoring and capturing drug dealers, preventing pre-planned crimes, and fighting drug-trafficking. A special section has been set up to focus on creating awareness and offer guidance in schools and universities about the dangers of consuming narcotics and its impact on the health, psyche and living standards of a person. "One of the major causes of drug addiction and smuggling is the absence of parental guidance, and due to broken homes," he said. The department's another priority is to prevent drugs from being smuggled into prisons as around 32 such cases were reported in the recent past. Most drug addicts are in the age group of 20 to 30 years. As many as 95 per cent of the addicts are living with hepatitis C and Aids due to the use of contaminated syringes, he said. He said there was the case of a 19-year-old boy who dropped out of school and became a drug addict and his parents have no clue of his whereabouts. In another case a husband forced his wife to become a drug addict like him, Brigadier Mahdi said adding that in some cases an elder family member had taken advantage of their younger siblings to smuggle drugs for them in the neighbourhood as they would be the least suspected, he said. "We call upon any families or individuals who have any drug problem or suspicion of any drug activity in their household or any other location to contact the department we assure individuals absolute confidentiality and safety," he said. Many people who use hashish later become addicted to heroin, he said adding that the switch is done because hashish is traceable in the blood for 25-30 days after consumption whereas heroin remains only for four days. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom