STAKEOUTS and drug raids are hardly what you expect from a typical Arab woman - especially when she's a member of the royal family. But Shaikha Noora bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa is not your typical Arab princess. The humble 28-year-old leads an undercover unit at the Criminal Investigation Directorate's drug squad, making her the first woman to work plainclothes in Bahrain's anti-narcotics division - as well as the first royal.

And she admits she loves the thrill of rubbing shoulders with members of Bahrain's criminal underworld, right before she arrests them.

Shaikha Noora has so far worked on around 150 cases and traces her passion for the job back to her childhood, when she would spend hours watching police and crime films.

"I was quickly affected by the police movies I watched and was glued to the TV screen," she said.

This interest in the dark world of drugs and crime led her to study for a Bachelor's in Social Services at Bahrain University, before obtaining a Master's in the same subject in Jordan.

It was while working on her Master's thesis, which focused on the effectiveness of Bahrain's drug treatment programme, that she discovered her calling.

"I studied 120 cases of addicts at the Almoayyed Drugs and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre," recalled Shaikha Noora.

"I saw the suffering and the pain they felt - their families abandon them and their wives leave them and they become a shame to the community."

She said it quickly became apparent that most drug addicts were driven to a life of crime by the need to feed their addiction.

It was witnessing first-hand the suffering of addicts that inspired her to get to the source of the problem - drug dealers - and root it out.

That realisation saw her enrol at the Interior Ministry, but she had to be patient before getting her first taste of action.

Shaikha Noora started out as an education and guidance officer in the anti-narcotics directorate before joining the drug squad over a year ago, but even then she had to bide her time before being allowed onto the streets.

"When I first entered the anti-narcotics directorate I was not involved in field work," she said.

"But back then I used to try to finish my work early and join the field squad.

"I loved the thrill and the feeling of being close to catching dealers and suppliers."

After proving herself in the field she became more involved in undercover operations - even being used as bait for drug dealers.

She would contact pushers and pose as a customer, but as soon as the drugs were handed over, her backup would swoop and arrest the dealer red handed.

Then in May last year she was officially appointed as the head of an undercover unit at the drug squad, a job that meant she has even had to befriend drug dealers to win their trust.

"My job now is working undercover, heading my team," she said.

"We watch suspects as well as capture them - occasionally befriending some of them or pretending to buy."

As you might expect, the job is not without risk and Shaikha Noora has had her fair share of close calls.

"The scariest moment for me was when we were following a suspect's car," she recalled.

"The car had three men in it and they stopped.

"Two ran and my team members gave chase, leaving me to face the dealer myself.

"I was scared he might hit me or something, but I managed to arrest him."

Satisfaction

Other risks include contracting diseases from the people she arrests, who could have anything from Aids to hepatitis as a result of sharing needles.

"I always worry I will be infected," she said.

"I try to be careful, but this is the risk of this job."

However, she said the satisfaction she gets from a successful drug bust makes the risk worthwhile.

"One of my proudest moments was when my team was able to seize 75kg of hashish after seven continuous days of work," she added.

But as anyone who watches police TV shows will know, a large amount of her time is spent on stakeouts - blending into the background as she and her team monitor and follow suspects.

She described this as the most tiring, but also the most effective aspect of the job and said stakeouts could last an average of five to nine hours.

"Watching can lead us to finding more suppliers and dealers," she explained.

However, Shaikha Noora has had to make sacrifices to pursue her career.

Sleepless nights are not uncommon as she and her team stalk the streets for their next collar, but it means she now has less time for her social life and friends.

It also means she has few opportunities to go fishing, which is one of her favourite hobbies.

"I don't have time to see my friends or even go fishing, this job sometimes needs sleepless nights trying to catch suspects," she explained.

However, one of the things that keeps her going - in addition to the satisfaction of a successful operation - is the support of her team and her boss Interior Ministry anti-narcotics directorate head Major Mubarak bin Huwail.

"The gratitude goes to Major Bin Huwail who supported us," she said.

"His acknowledgement to my team's hard work is what keeps me motivated."

She revealed her family was also supportive, despite her father's initial reservations.

"My brother supports me, but my father was initially not happy with my choice of career," she said.

"However, he respects my decision. If my mother was alive she would have been proud of me."

Armed with a sense of humour and an obvious passion for her work, Shaikha Noora is also disarmingly humble - preferring to be called simply Noora than by her royal prefix.

She was also eager to shed light on the murky world her job takes her into, while not giving too much away for fear of jeopardising current and future operations.

Her obvious concern for the damage drugs can do prompted her to urge parents to take more interest in their children's lives and be aware of the signs of drug abuse.

"Parents have to befriend their children and know who their friends are," she said.

Obvious signs include children borrowing money, but not being able to show where it has been spent, and a dip in their school grades.

"If their school grades are dropping tackle the issue with their teachers, why is this happening?" she said.

She also revealed signs of hashish use included yellow discoloration around fingertips as a result of rolling joints, while unusually slow or jumbled speech was an indication of heroin use.

"They tend to walk slowly and heavily and talk very slowly, as if they don't have any energy," she said.

By contrast, people who use stimulants - such as amphetamines - are usually too energetic.

"In general, most drug addicts have bags under their eyes which is abnormal," she said.

As for Shaikha Noora, the future looks bright and she is planning at some point to resume her studies to acquire a PhD, as well as continue with her efforts to improve the potential of the drug squad.

She also hopes that more women will follow in her footsteps and join her in the department. "I realise that when I entered this career, I would open more doors for my fellow females to join this force," she said. "Women have become pilots and doctors, but it's nice to be the first to enter a field like this as I feel I opened the door for others to join." basma@gdn.com.bh