Police in Dubai found and seized 86 million tablets of the drug known as Captagon, after officers were alerted to a suspicious looking shipping container.
It is believed to be one of the largest such hauls ever intercepted. The suspected narcotics were hidden inside panels and doors.
A video showed Dubai police tearing open wooden panels and doors where 86 million pills were hidden. The suspected narcotics were hidden inside panels and doors.
The police have seized more than 13 tons of narcotics with 3.87 billion AED street value. The police did not mention the suspected origin of the illegal shipment.
However, the authorities said that six suspects have been identified. Authorities did not identify the arrested suspects but described their operation as an “international criminal organization,” without saying the source of the drugs.
The authorities also mentioned they have seized five shipping containers “in a major operation,” as they have described it.
Video footage they released showed officers tracking the containers and monitoring suspects, as well as dismantling 651 doors and 432 wooden panels to get to the narcotics.
“The gang tried to smuggle the tablets by tucking them into 651 doors and 432 decorative panels,” the authorities said on Thursday.
The authorities also mentioned that “the United Arab Emirates will remain an oasis of security and will be on the lookout for anyone who tries to tamper with the security and safety of the UAE society,” stressing that the “concerned authorities in the UAE are able to surround and thwart the activities of gangs and drug traffickers and thwart their despicable plans, so that the UAE remains resistant to criminals and poison dealers.”
