ABU DHABI // Police in the capital foiled an attempt by two male drivers to smuggle 400 kilograms of hashish into a neighbouring country.
Half of the 400 kilograms was packed in plastic and foil wrap in two cardboard boxes, and the other half was found in cooperation with Dubai Police, hidden in plastic barrels at a rented house in Dubai that was being used as a warehouse, police said.
Col Dr Rashed Boursheid, director of the CID at Abu Dhabi Police, estimated the market wholesale price of the confiscated drugs was approximately Dh4 million. He said the retail price would quadruple to Dh16m.
The investigation began when police received a tip off about a large smuggling operation. Police ambushed the gang in Abu Dhabi and confiscated the drugs, Col Dr Boursheid said. The suspects, AM, 43, and DF, 30, both of Asian nationalities, worked as truck drivers.
Brig Gen Aameer Al Miheri, deputy director general of police operations at the Abu Dhabi Police, named the operation "6x26" because it coincided with the World Anti-Drugs Day that fell on June 26.
newsdesk@thenational.ae