UAE makes "largest-ever" drug bust in the region
Seizes 200 kilos of heroin from Afghan ring
Police in Sharjah, a member of the United Arab Emirates, said on Tuesday they have busted an Afghan drug trafficking gang in possession of 202 kilograms (445pounds) of pure heroin.
Colonel Abdullah al-Dukhan, deputy chief of Sharjah police, said the drugs were the "largest-ever consignment to be seized in the region", valuing it at 11 million dollars, according to WAM state news agency.
"The UAE will not allow itself to become a transit point for drug smugglers," Dukhan was quoted by daily Gulf News as saying.
He said the gang caught with the drugs was busted through cooperation between police in the emirates of Dubai and Sharjah, without giving details on the place or time of the arrests.
The UAE imposes severe penalties for all drug-related offences. Four years in prison is the usual sentence for possession while trafficking carries the death penalty.