DUBAI: The UAE has foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 13 tons of Captagon pills with a street value of over $816 million, the country’s interior minister said.
Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed said the 86 million pills were hidden in 651 doors and 432 wooden panels.
Dubai Police arrested six people in the drug operation.
Video footage posted on the minister’s X account showed officers tracking five shipping containers where the pills were hidden.
•إحباط تهريب أكثر من 13 طناً من أقراص الكبتاجون المخدرة موزعة في 5 حاويات.
•قيمتها السوقية تجاوزت الـ 3 مليارات درهم.
•العصابة الإجرامية حاولت تهريب المواد المخدرة عبر دسها في 651 باب و 432 لوح ديكور.
•ألقي القبض على أفراد العصابة الإجرامية الستة متلبسين.أشكر الأخ الفريق… pic.twitter.com/8gXD1CD6iE
— سيف بن زايد آل نهيان (@SaifBZayed) September 14, 2023
The police said they received information about suspicious containers on board a cargo ship. An international gang tried to smuggle the narcotics through the UAE and into another country, said a security official quoted on Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Officers were seen dissembling the doors and panels after seizing the containers and arresting the suspects.
“The UAE will take firm action against anyone who thinks of threatening the society’s safety and stability,” wrote bin Zayed on X.
Captagon is mainly used by young men across the Middle East. The money from the illegal sales is either used to produce more narcotics, or in organized crime and terrorism.
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