Woman carrying 13kg of cocaine caught in Abu Dhabi

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Woman carrying 13kg of cocaine caught in Abu Dhabi An airline passenger was caught trying to smuggle 13kg of high-grade cocaine elaborately hidden inside gym weights. Abu Dhabi Police said the African woman, aged 26, had tried to smuggle the drugs, with an estimated street value of Dhs15 million, through Abu Dhabi International Airport. Secret compartments had been created in the weights in which cocaine had been stashed. The woman was also found with a large number of chunky clothing buttons, inside which more drugs had been hidden, although the police did not say how. Officers said the woman came off a plane from South America and was destined for a country in Asia, which they did not name. Brigadier Rashid Mohammed Borshid, head of Abu Dhabi Police CID, said the woman was spotted behaving suspiciously as she walked through the transit area, showing signs of “confusion and discomfort”. He also said the woman was on an known drug smuggling route. The arrest was carried out in collaboration with the Anti-Narcotics Federal Directorate General of the Ministry of Interior. Borshid said: “The woman was suspected because she was taking the same suspicious flight route. The police were vigilant because they had earlier arrested similar suspects while trying to take flights via Abu Dhabi Airport on their way from a Latin American country to an Asian country.” Colonel Sultan Suwayeh Al Darmaki, chief of the Anti-Drug Section at CID, added: “The suspect was arrested at Abu Dhabi airport after she looked tired and confused, which aroused the suspicion of the police. “She was was subjected to a special screening test, which revealed the high-grade cocaine stash hidden smartly in the weights and buttons inside her luggage.” He said that when questioned, the woman confessed, saying she was promised $35,000 (Dhs128,000) by a group of dealers to fly with the packages. She has been referred to public prosecutors. Al Darmaki said heightened vigilance and expertise on the part of drug squad officers ensures smugglers do not make it through the airport, “regardless of the concealment method”. ismail@7days.ae   Read the original story at: Woman carrying 13kg of cocaine caught in Abu Dhabi