UAE seized US$1 billion of Captagon amphetamine drug hidden in doors
- They were hidden in 5 shipping containers of doors and decorative panels, with the drugs weighing over 13 tonnes
- The bust comes as sales of the amphetamine have become a Middle East-wide problem during Syria’s long war
Police in Dubai seized 86 million tablets of the amphetamine known as Captagon hidden in a shipment of doors and decorative building panels, authorities said on Thursday, estimating its street value at just over US$1 billion.
The bust comes as sales of the amphetamine have become a Middle East-wide problem during Syria’s long war.
A surveillance video released by the Interior Ministry in the United Arab Emirates shows suspects trying to bring the Captagon tablets through Dubai’s massive Jebel Ali Port.
They were hidden in five shipping containers of doors and panels, with the drugs themselves weighing over 13 tonnes, authorities said.
The UAE “stands as an impenetrable fortress against any threat aimed at jeopardising the security and well-being of the Emirati society,” Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a statement.
Authorities did not identify the arrested suspects but described their operation as an “international criminal organisation,” without saying the source of the drugs.