NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL

Customs crack drug smugglers' nutty tactic

The seizure made by customs officials in Dubai International Airport. Courtesy of Dubai Customs

DUBAI - JAN 29: The latest attempt to smuggle drugs into the country started to unravel when the smugglers’ mule began to lose his nerve.

Customs officers at Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 2 earlier this week noticed that a Pakistani passenger seemed reluctant to take his bag off the carousel. When he finally found the courage to claim it, he was followed and stopped before he could pass through customs.

There, his bag was searched. Inside, officers found a familiar sight: the bag was full of almonds, packaged to look like gifts. It was an old trick and this time it did not work.

In 2007 the largest haul of heroin yet intercepted at the airport had also been hidden inside almonds. This week, as then, officers found that the nuts had been hollowed out and filled with small plastic bags containing pure heroin powder.

The man admitted being part of a smuggling ring and told officers he was supposed to deliver the 16kg of drugs to associates already in the country.

Dubai Police were sent to a hotel in another emirate, said Brig Abdul Jaleel Mahdi, the director of the police anti-narcotics department. “Three more people were arrested,” he said. “They tried to run away from the hotel but were caught.”

All drugs-smuggling cases involved more than one person, he said: “There is the dealer, the smuggler, the recipient, someone to store the drugs and someone to oversee importing them.”

Police think Dubai was just a staging post for the drugs, which were to be smuggled out of the country to another destination.

It was sometimes difficult to identify mules, said Brig Mahdi, because “the individuals used to transport drugs are changed with each smuggling operation. They use someone with a clean slate."

There was no shortage of volunteers: “Those individuals are often in a desperate financial situation and dealers tempt them with large sums of money.”

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, a kilogram of pure heroin is worth about US$30,700 (Dh112,600) wholesale or $67,100 retail on the streets of Europe, and as much as $172,000 retail in the US. If the heroin were cut with other substances to increase the volume of powder, the 16kg could have been worth tens of millions of dirhams.

If convicted on the drugs charges, the four men face a minimum of 10 years in prison each and could be sentenced to death.

Meanwhile, a court source in Sharjah said a ruling in the case of 15 Afghan nationals accused of smuggling 202kg of heroin into the country was expected early next month.

Sharjah prosecutors have called for the death penalty in the case.

According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the alleged smugglers have had three hearings since the case was transferred to the courts in October last year. The first was on Nov 23 and the most recent was this month. All the hearings were in private, as the ruling would be, the source said.

“In all hearings the accused have denied the charges and that is why the court decided to delay the ruling until next month to collect enough evidence from eyewitnesses and police,” the source said.

If there were guilty verdicts and the sentence was death, the source said, the accused could appeal.

In any event, there would be no execution unless Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed, the Ruler of Sharjah, signed a warrant. He also could choose to exercise the prerogative of mercy.

If death sentences were carried out, the men would be executed in private.  “It is a culture here we don’t make such executions public,” the source said. “Only relatives would get to know if the execution would be done and on what date.”

On Tuesday, the Court of First Instance in Dubai condemned a Pakistani man, 24, who had been convicted of killing a night watchman during a failed attempt to steal money from a car showroom.

It has been eight years since the last execution in Dubai.

Airshow takes off into Al Ain’s skies

ALAIN - JAN 29: Mini jets controlled by radios, Russian warbirds and elegant gliders soared through the sky yesterday as the Al Ain Aerobatic Show took off from the airfield surrounding the city’s international airport.

Hundreds of spectators watched an A340 Etihad jet– painted in red and black Formula One livery – and a performance by the UAE parachute team in which one jumper floated to the ground attached to a giant flag.

The sixth annual show runs until Saturday. Faisal al Sheikh, head of events management for the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), said the authority was expecting crowds totalling 130,000 people from the UAE and other GCC countries.

“At the ADTA, our vision is to enliven Abu Dhabi emirate by focusing events in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region,” he said at the show. “To tackle this vision, we are using events.”

Sporting events have been a particular focus of the authority, which held the Red Bull air race last year, and will host the Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi this year.

The crowds were not large yesterday, but Mr al Sheikh said: “It is a Wednesday.

“Today we started to open the gates and so far all of the indicators are positive. The online tickets are doing great.”

Mr al Sheikh said he expected the crowds to pick up, and for its targets to be reached by the weekend.

The stunts were breathtaking, although some spectators said they would like to see more military jets.

Andreas Schmidt, 34, from Germany, said that while he enjoyed the upside-down antics of the bright red Russian Sukhoi jet, the show had not featured many high-powered military aircraft.

Maxim Miyoshkin, 22, who is visiting Dubai and Abu Dhabi from Russia, said he had last seen an air show three years in his home country.

“It was better then because Russia has the fastest aircraft. But it’s nice and I’m enjoying it,” he said.

The Aero GP squad were a crowd favourite with their combat-like stunts including dogfights and pylon racing, a sport in which six aeroplanes race simultaneously at speeds of more than 500 kph.

Many of the planes were equipped with smoke machines that left red and grey spirals and zigzags against the blue sky.

Across the field from the landing strip, dozens of SUVs parked along the red sand dunes to take in the show.

During the segment for the Swift Aerobatic Display Team, an engineless glider, towed into the air and then dropped from dizzying heights, performed erratic loop-the-loops and graceful flyovers just metres from the ground.

As it was being pulled into the sky, the pilot, Guy Westhead, shifted his weight to the right and spun his plane horizontally 10 times as the commentator announced a new world record.

After he left the cockpit, Mr Westhead said a plane had never spun on the tow rope more than 11 consecutive times. “This week, we will break that record.” Although he added: “It won’t actually be a world record because Guinness isn’t here.”

The ADTA said the air show is an opportunity to showcase some of Al Ain’s natural attractions, such as its red sand dunes.

Pointing to the backdrop of a flat airstrip and colourful hills, Mr al Sheikh said: “This event is going to go a great way to showcase the city’s sand dunes, trees and Hafeet mountain.”

The photos of the stunts will highlight the area’s natural features, he said.

“The aviation sector is one of the most spectacular sectors that are aligned with the segments we want to talk about.”

The air show is also expected to receive wide coverage on specialist websites and television channels, he said.

Mr al Sheikh said the Aero GP had added an extra kick to this year’s show by holding its first competition of the season in Al Ain.

“These sanctioned competitions are a way to build excitement about the city,” he said.