Oman police foil plot to smuggle narcotics to neighbouring country

An attempt to smuggle 2.8 million captagon pills was foiled by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) at Sohar port recently.

The pills were found concealed in pipes used for tanning leather.

The smuggling attempt is believed to be linked to a previous attempt in November and the same suspects are believed to be involved.

In November, Oman police arrested members of an international drug ring for attempting to smuggle six million captagon pills to a “neighbouring country”, without providing further details.

“A total of six million captagon pills were seized,” General Abdul Rahim Al Farsi, head of the Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Department of Royal Oman Police, said

Officers at the Combating Narcotics Department intercepted the pills in a flat in the capital Muscat and arrested ten suspects.

All the accused have been forwarded to the Public Prosecution for further investigation and trial.

Meanwhile, Oman is working hard to tackle the drug menace by conducting intensive campaigns nationwide targeting the youth, the largest segment of drug users, officials say.

The number of drug addicts in Oman stood at 5,000 in 2014, compared to 4,000 in 2013, according to Ministry of Health figures.

The ministry has not released updated figures since then.

Omani authorities have set up more than 12 rehabilitation centres in all governorates due to the increase in drug abuse in the country.

A source in the Royal Oman Police told Gulf News that the number of drug cases has been rising by more than ten per cent every year.

He added that Oman’s geography, with its long coastline and proximity to some drug exporting countries, poses a major challenge in combating drug trafficking

source : gulfnews