Dubai Customs foils attempt to smuggle 3 million Captagon pills

In one of its largest drug busts this year, the Dubai Customs seized nearly three million captagon pills, and foiled a major operation to smuggle them into the country.

Inspection officers of the Sea Customs Centre Management at Jebel Ali Port thwarted the operation by intercepting the illegal shipment.

The Control Room, supported by the Siyaj monitoring unit, analysed the data of the suspected container, and thoroughly checked it upon its arrival with the help of the K9 dog unit, reported state news agency WAM.

“The inspection officers are equipped with advanced devices, tools and systems including radioactivity scanners and the K9 unit, which help us tighten the noose on drug traffickers and prevent drugs from entering the borders,” said Yousef Al Hashimi, director of Sea Customs Centres Management.

The search resulted in the discovery of a large consignment of Captagon pills. Captagon, a brand name for the amphetamine drug fenethylline hydrochloride, was originally marketed as a treatment for conditions such as narcolepsy, depression and hyperactivity. However, it has been banned in most countries since the Eighties.

“Within our efforts at the Sea Customs centres to live up to the expectations of the (Safe Homeland) campaign, we have made many seizures to contribute to a safer trade and protect society from the hazards of amphetamines,” said Al Hashimi.

In November, Dubai Customs intercepted an attempt to smuggle 663.2kgs of drugs into the country. It was the biggest narcotic smuggling operation intercepted along Dubai’s coast. The shipment included 306.44 kg of crystal meth, 201.44kg of opium and cannabis, and 122.72kg of narcotic pills and psychotropic substances, and 32.62kg of heroin.

Read: Video: Dubai Customs seize over 663kgs of drugs including crystal meth, heroin, opium and cannabis