NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL

Dubai Customs make stimulant drug haul

The seized Captagon tablets weighed over 104kg. Courtesy of Dubai Customs

DUBAI - FEB. 17: The illegal drugs were hidden inside 152 industrial-sized spools of thread, packaged as though they would be sold for use in the textiles market.

But as the spools passed through the scanners in Cargo Village at Dubai International Airport, inspectors with Dubai Customs started noticing that the density of wrapped thread varied from reel to reel. And that led to the seizure of a massive haul of the recreational drug, Captagon.

When the Customs officials cut open the first 850g spool, they found it was stuffed with tablets. Further testing revealed 651,000 pills of Captagon, or 104kg, in all.

The haul, on Jan 27, dwarfed the 10-15kg amounts of Captagon that had been seized in the past, said Abdul Rahman al Saleh, the senior executive director of corporate affairs at Dubai Customs.

“This is a huge quantity of drugs to come to the market,” he added. “And the way it was brought in was very innovative.”

Dubai Customs and Dubai Police do not put an illicit market – or street – value on drug seizures. However, during a 2005 raid in Turkey, authorities found two North Korean diplomats assigned to the Bulgarian embassy to be carrying half a million Captagon tablets.

At that time the drugs, destined for the Arab market, were estimated to have a street value of US$7 million (Dh25.7m).

Mr al Saleh would not name the country of origin, although he confirmed they came from within the region. An Arab resident of the UAE who was present as the packages were examined was arrested and referred to the Dubai Police’s anti-drug department.

Brig Abdul Jaleel Mahdi, the director of the General Department of Combating Narcotics at Dubai Police, said the drugs were generally produced in “a country very close to here”.

“It’s not the first time that Captagon pills have passed through the country,’’ he said, “but it is more widespread in other neighbouring countries than it is in the UAE.’’

Captagon is the brand name for a synthetic stimulant called fenethylline that was invented in the early 1960s. It was initially used to treat children with what is now known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and, to a lesser extent, adults with narcolepsy and depression. It was later banned worldwide.

Since 2000 there has been a rise in the use of Captagon – which is also produced in counterfeit form using other amphetamines – among youths in the Arab world who use it recreationally, to stay awake or as a weight-loss aid.

Dr Ahmed Yousif Ali, the head of treatment and rehabilitation at the National Rehabilitation Centre in the capital, said last autumn that almost all of his patients had abused Captagon.

He warned of the side effects, explaining that it “sabotages the brain” and can keep users awake for days.

Hamad al Ghaferi, the centre’s director-general, said yesterday that there were still cases of people being treated for abusing Captagon.
“It is one of the drugs, the medications that has been smuggled into the country,” he said.

In recent years the Middle East has been increasingly affected by the manufacture of Captagon, known locally as Abu Hilalain, according to the 2008 World Drug Report from the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime.

When the report was released last autumn, its authors said there was no evidence such synthetic drugs were being manufactured in the UAE or the GCC, but rather in clandestine laboratories in Bulgaria, Turkey and Syria.

But they do appear to have become drugs of choice in the region; in recent years the Middle East has seen its share of global seizures of synthetic drugs, including Captagon, amphetamines and Ecstasy, jump from one per cent to 25 per cent, according to the report.

The size of the Captagon seizure in Dubai pales in comparison with others; in 2006, 14 tonnes were seized in Saudi Arabia and two tonnes in Oman.

At the end of January four men were arrested after Dubai Customs seized 16kg of heroin that had been smuggled into the country in hollowed-out almonds.

Earlier this month, Sharjah Police seized 1kg of heroin and 290g of opium and arrested three people from one family.

Freehold owners to get residency

ABU DHABI - FEB. 17: A federal law granting residency visas to owners of freehold property will be introduced within the year, a senior government official has disclosed.

The proposal, welcomed by property developers, will allow the owners to obtain a six-month renewable residency visa, regardless of their nationality or the size and value of the property, said Brig Gen Nasser al Minhali, the acting director general of the federal Department of Naturalisation and Residency (DNR).

Brig Gen Minhali said the aim was to create a unified visa system related to home purchases.

“It is a security organisational procedure,” he said.

“We do not want each emirate to develop procedures on its own, so we will unify it under the Ministry of Interior.”

Residency visas granted in the past would remain valid, he said. But it would not be possible to renew them until the federal law was implemented. He refused to reveal further details, as the law is still being studied.

Whatever the department’s stated aims, property market insiders said the introduction of a single property visa system for the whole country would benefit a housing market that has recently been less buoyant after several years of growth.

“We strongly support this proposal,” said Mohammed Nimer, the chief executive of Dubai-based MAG Group Properties, adding that the property market needed a boost.

A spokesman for Aldar, Abu Dhabi’s largest property developer, said: “We would welcome any clarification regarding residency visas for international property buyers, but it is too early for us to comment any further.”

The Dubai-based master developers Nakheel and Emaar did not comment.

In several emirates, including Dubai, prospective homeowners seeking residency have relied on property developers to act as sponsors for visas. The three-year visa, which allowed the holder to live in the emirate but not to work, was a significant incentive for many buyers, especially those from Iran, Pakistan and India.

There was confusion, however, over whether developers could actually guarantee these visas, as some promised, and whether the DNR would issue them. The situation was clearer in Abu Dhabi, where developers said there was not even the possibility of a residency visa for foreign buyers.

Industry insiders said a single nationwide system was vital in easing confusion over which emirate had which entitlement. This would help to restore confidence to the market, they said.

“It has to be federal; that way it carries weight,” said Mr Nimer, who added that the market would not fully recover until home finance became more readily available.

Vincent Easton, the sales director at Sherwoods Independent Property Consultants, esaid a single law would clarify an issue that had been “opaque for too long”.
However, he and several other leading estate agents said the visas’ six-month validity was too short.

Liz O’Connor, the director of residential sales and leasing at Better Homes, said the proposal may encourage a few cash buyers to start thinking about purchasing. But she added: “Due to the short-term nature of the proposed visa this does not give buyers a sense of security if they are thinking of staying, moving to or retiring in Dubai, as property for many is a long-term investment.” Ms O’Connor added that many people in Dubai purchased property believing they would be granted a residence visa. In many cases, that had not materialised.

An official at the Dubai Land Department said the way visas were granted had been under review for some time.

Mohammad Sultan Thani, the department’s assistant director-general for excellence and organisational governance, said housing officials wanted to stop developers from being able to say they could “guarantee” buyers a visa – a claim that helped companies to sell properties, but was by no means assured and gave prospective investors false hope.

Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency last year criticised developers that promoted housing projects in this way, pointing out that all visa applications were subject to approval from the DNR.

A committee to examine the system proposed that the title deed for a freehold or long-term leasehold property would itself qualify a buyer to apply for a residency visa, cutting the developer out of the process.

Mr Thani said the proposed law would be better for landowners than sponsorship by the developer.

“At the moment, property owners can be sponsored by the developer, as if you were working for them, and your visa belongs to them,’’ he said. “But if there was a problem between you and the developer, it would have the power to cancel your visa.”

While admitting that the prospect of residency visas would be “very nice for investors”, he doubted people bought for that reason alone.

“For some nationalities it’s a motivating factor,” Mr Thani said, “but overall people buy as a long-term investment, to live in the property, to earn rental revenue or to sell for a profit.”

Taxi drivers protest over rental charges

ABU DHABI - FEB. 17: The taxi regulator has promised to scrap an increase in vehicle rental charges that caused dozens of drivers to protest yesterday.

Commuters reported problems hailing taxis as disgruntled drivers converged on the offices of TransAD to complain about increased charges imposed by Tawasul, one of seven franchisees that operates the capital’s silver taxis.

TransAD said it would make Tawasul shelve the increase in costs that followed a rise in fares.

Drivers say the increased charges mean they are seeing no benefit from this week’s fare increase.

On Sunday, the daytime starting fare rose to Dh3 (US$0.82) from Dh2.60, while the per-kilometre rate increased to Dh1 from 65 fils.

The same day, Tawasul informed drivers it was increasing the 24-hour rental charge for a vehicle to Dh300 from Dh225. The cost of a 12-hour rental, drivers said, had risen to Dh220 from Dh155.

One driver, an Egyptian who asked not to be named, said that each day petrol cost about Dh75 and food around Dh25, meaning his total daily costs were now Dh400. It was difficult, he said, to make any money when costs were as high as this.

“We are working 15 hours a day for nothing,” he said, adding he would go back to Egypt if the charge increase remained.

Drivers working on a commission basis, who earn a basic monthly salary of Dh1,000, must now generate at least Dh7,999 in revenue before they earn any commission payments.

Another driver, a Sri Lankan, said: “They have increased the meter fare but all the benefits are going to the company.”

While dozens of drivers from countries such as Egypt, the Philippines, India and Sri Lanka visited TransAD’s offices to voice their concerns, passengers had difficulty finding taxis.

Jay Arcenal, a 38-year-old civil engineer from Arabtech, was waiting for a taxi for 30 minutes at the main taxi stand in the capital.

“Everyone is scrambling for a taxi here,” he said. “About 10 people have been waiting here for 45 minutes but there were no taxis available. Other taxis refuse to take passengers.”

There are more than 3,000 silver taxis, which will eventually replace the cheaper white and gold vehicles.

Abdulla al Hameli, TransAD’s compliance and quality control manager, said he was surprised the drivers were protesting at the company’s offices.

“They’re supposed to solve the problem with the management of Tawasul but since the management did not listen to the drivers, they came to TransAD,” he said.

Huda al Kaabi, a senior communication officer at TransAD, said Tawasul was wrong to have increased the charges to drivers when fares went up.

“Because we changed the tariff, they should not change the daily rental,” she said.

Mr al Hameli said it was against TransAD’s rules for a franchisee to increase rental charges or commission rates without consulting with the regulator.

“They have to refer to TransAD before they change anything,” he said.

Mr al Hameli said as far as he knew, Tawasul was the only one of the seven franchisees to increase the charges to drivers. TransAD was arranging a meeting with the franchisees, he said, and expected a resolution by the end of the week.

“The main concern for TransAD is to make sure everything is in order for the drivers and the public because happy drivers make the public happy.”

No one at Tawasul was available for comment yesterday.

Woman flees gang, court hears

DUBAI - FEB. 17: A woman allegedly forced into prostitution escaped her captors after she climbed down from the second-floor window of a locked apartment, a court heard yesterday.

The woman, identified as SJ, 24, had come to the country to work as a dancer in a nightclub when she said she was threatened with violence if she did not agree to sleep with men for money.

Four Uzbek women and a Kirghiz man appeared before the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday charged with illegally detaining a woman and forcing her into prostitution. All deny the offences.

Three of the four women were also charged with practising prostitution. SJ claimed she reluctantly agreed to become a prostitute -after she was beaten by the second defendant, GO, 33.

She said she was often taken to several Dubai hotels by the second defendant, MO, 29, or driven there by TM, 40, a Kirghiz man.

On Oct 14 she was held against her will at an apartment in Al Qusais after refusing to continue, she said. She escaped and alerted the police, who arrested the five accused.

Suspects arrested over luxury car thefts

DUBAI - FEB. 17: Police have arrested several people in connection with the theft of dozens of luxury cars by two separate rings of thieves.

In the first case, the gang stole vehicles including Chevrolets and Fords from residents and car rental companies over a two-month period, Dubai Police said. Six men, identified as AY, WY, HS, AS, BA and MY, were believed to be “professionals” who forged documents to obtain car ownership from banks then sold and exported the vehicles.

A tip-off led to the arrest of the gang leader on Friday in Ajman, police said. A search of his flat produced 35 car registrations and documents for money transfers worth more than Dh11.38m (US$3.1m). Police said they retrieved 22 of the 46 late-model cars that were stolen.

The second case involved four men, identified as MI, AY, NS and MS, who police believe used false Pakistani passports to obtain cars from rental companies and forged documents to export the stolen vehicles to Iraq.