Five men arrested for smuggling 115kg of drugs in a drilling rig, police say


Salam Al Amir
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Five men were arrested for allegedly smuggling more than 750,000 drugs in pill form and 115kg of Captagon that they hid in a drilling rig.

Dubai Police said they received a tip off that a drilling rig filled would drugs would be arriving at Al Hamriyah Port on board a ship coming from a neighbouring country.
"The information we received was confirmed by an investigation headed by Maj Gen Khalil Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs," said Brig Eid Hareb, Dubai Police's Anti-Narcotics Department director.
He said one of the suspects, a 45-year-old businessman, was arrested upon arriving at customs to  release the drilling machine while the second suspect, a 33-year-old engineer, was arrested as he attempted to flee the country over the Hatta border.
"Two other suspects were arrested at their hotel room in one of the emirates while the fifth suspect was arrested in Dubai," said Brig Hareb.
Police found 783, 800 pills comprising three different types of drugs concealed inside a tube in the front part of the drill. They also found 115kg of Captagon wrapped in plastic bags in other parts of the machine.
The suspects – all of Arab origin - were referred to prosecutors to face trial.

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.