Sharjah Police has unearthed new types of synthetic drugs being smuggled into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in bottles of skin serum.
According to details, synthetic cannabinoids, 100 times more powerful than natural cannabis, have reportedly been made by a foreign laboratory.
Sharjah Police discovered these narcotics in the possession of a passenger at Sharjah Airport. Dr. Taj Elsie Abbas, a Chemical Analysis Expert, commended the police’s recovery but warned that keeping up with advanced drug-making illicit organizations is difficult.
He explained that the chemical structure of synthetic cannabinoids is easily altered, suggesting that drug gangs can create 20 new strains of synthetic drugs by altering the chemical structure of the original drug.
The high-inducing drugs can be created in a liquid version as well that can be used in e-cigarettes and other devices, or dried and converted into gas.
Dr. Taj further noted that it is difficult to identify these substances since they can be hidden inside any product, including cosmetics and food.
Synthetic cannabis, also known as spice, was first manufactured and sold in the early 2000s and has evolved since then. Sharjah Police seized four new forms of spice in February this year, and they have since been added to the country’s list of prohibited narcotics.
