DUBAI // The head of Dubai Police this morning dismissed claims a haul of 16,000 pistols seized in Dubai en route to Yemen were blank-firing weapons.
Last weekend, a Turkish arms manufacturer said he believed the weapons had been made in his factory and were blank-firing pistols.
The shipment of arms was seized by Dubai Police on March 9. It had travelled from Turkey, through Egypt’s Port Said and on to Dubai, hidden in boxes of furniture. Six men were arrested in connection with the case.
Speaking on the sidelines of the International Symposium of Best Police Practices, Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim denied that the weapons are ornaments and said they are real pistols that can cause injury or death when used at a short range.
"The barrel might look fake, but the weapons are real and they have been tested. They can cause injury at short range and they can also be modified for use in long distance," he said.
wissa@thenational.ae
