Rashid Al Saadi could not stop smiling after swallowing "headache" medication offered to him by a university classmate in the northern Omani city of Sohar.
The next day, he told his older brother, Tarik, the pill he took was “like no other pill in the world”. It was not until later that they found out the drug was illegal.
Two days later, the 22-year-old, who is studying business management, was asked by the same classmate if he wanted another “headache" pill — but this time he had to hand over 3.5 rials (Dh33).
"I found out it was a drug called Yaba after I alerted the police and handed over a sample to them," Tarik, 27, told The National.
To avoid prosecution, Rashid's 'friend' cut a deal with the cops, who set up a sting operation with him to catch the suppliers. They were arrested and sentenced to 10 years in jail.
“All I know from the police is that the dealers live in Sohar, and they have a ring that sells to higher education students on campuses in the Al Batnah area. Most are not students themselves but people who live in the same area and make money from selling the stuff to pupils,” Mr Saadi said.
Four suspected dealers, all of whom were not students, were arrested last month in the same university campus in Sohar. The penalty for drug trafficking in Oman is 10 to 15 years in jail, while drug users are given an opportunity to seek treatment.
Drug use in Oman is on the rise. More than 2,850 people were treated in hospital for drug addiction in 2017, compared to about 2,700 in 2016, according to the ministry of health.
Pupils studying the capital, Muscat, say that the use of cocaine, heroin and marijuana is also common among university students.
“The word now in some campuses in Muscat is 'get high in higher education'," said a lecturer, who did not want to be identified, in a Muscat-based university.
The dealers, who appear to be in their late teens to early twenties, mingle with students and deal to them on campus grounds, according to the lecturer.
An Oman university alumnus said dealers “hook” students by giving them free samples at first. Eventually, after developing an addiction, drug peddlers begin charging students, he said.
“I was hooked that way. Two of them asked me to snort white powder, which they placed on the back of my hand when they came to my university’s cafeteria. I thought it was cool. I did it a couple of times. Then they demanded money," said Sabri Al Ismaili.
The 26-year-old was snorting powdered MDMA that was being sold to him in dosages packaged in small plastic bags for 25 rials (Dh245) a piece.
"My father noticed something strange about me and called the police. They took a blood sample and said I was positive for drugs. I got rehabilitated for two months after being hooked on drugs for over a year,” said Mr Al Ismaili.
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Read more
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Man held over drug-related murder in east Oman
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Mr Ismaili is among the lucky ones. After his rehabilitation in 2014, he went back to the university to graduate and then hired by a bank in Muscat. But others never recover from the addiction.
In October 2017, a university student in Muscat was rushed to hospital and died shortly afterwards from an overdose.
“He missed the morning class and in the afternoon we found him still in bed but could not wake him up. We knew he was taking drugs and we also know people from outside the campus were selling him the drugs. It is sad that he ended up that way,” one of his classmates, who did not want to be named, told The National.
In September last year, Oman launched a month-long campaign headed by the state-run National Committee for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances targeting schools and universities, where they held talks with pupils about the side-effects of drug dependency.
“The campaign needs time to work. People should not jump to conclusion too soon. But I think we need statistics to know how many students are addicted, their age group and which areas of Oman,” said Harith Al Harthy, a volunteer at the Hayatt Association, a charity organisation dealing with drug addiction.
Mr Al Harthy has called for data collection and more investigation to better understand the scale of Oman's student drug problem.
He also called for more drug rehabilitation centres, saying that there are not enough in the country.
Earlier last year, the government said it will invest more than $200 million in the next five years to double the number of beds in the country's only rehabilitation centre and build more facilities.
Al Masarra Hospital is the only medical institution in the country that offers rehabilitation for drug addiction. When the hospital opened in Muscat in 2014, the drug rehab centre had just 50 beds. A year later, it doubled its capacity.
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
FA Cup semi-finals
Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)
Matches on Bein Sports
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Pathaan
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
Facebook | Our website | Instagram
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Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
RESULTS
5pm: Watha Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Dalil De Carrere, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Miracle Maker, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Pharitz Al Denari, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mahmood Hussain
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Oss, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: ES Nahawand, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: AF Almajhaz, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: AF Lewaa, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud.
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
