Dubai: Three Syrian men were arrested last week and one remains on the run abroad for smuggling 17.7 million Captagon pills in six wood presses, Dubai Police revealed in a press conference yesterday [Monday].
Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, said that the operation would not have been a success without the cooperation of Ajman Police’s Anti-Narcotics Department and Dubai Customs.
“Two of the men were arrested in the UAE, one was arrested by Saudi authorities after crossing the land border and the fourth is on the run abroad. We are currently following legal procedures to bring in the suspect from Saudi Arabia and an international warrant will be issued for the fourth.” Maj Gen Al Mazeina said.
This is the largest drug bust in 2014 by Dubai Police.
Maj Gen Al Mazeina said that the Anti-Narcotics Department of Dubai Police received trusted information about the shipment, and tracked it as soon as it reached Jebel Ali Port, with the help of Dubai Customs.
“The drugs were professionally hidden in six wood presses used in manufacturing doors.”
The wood presses were then moved to a rented warehouse in Jebel Ali.
While tracking the shipment, officers found out that a similar shipment was moved to a storage warehouse in Ajman a few days earlier, by a man called H.M.M.
Dubai Police ambushed H.M.M. with help of Ajman Police, and they found 14 tramadol pills in his pockets. He confessed that he was storing narcotics in a warehouse in Ajman in addition to the new shipment.
The man also confessed that he had met a man, A.A., when he was abroad, who told him he would ship him the equipment that contained the drugs and he should receive it and unpack the pills.
H.M.M. told his friend A.S.A., and A.S.A. told one of his relatives, M.R., and they all took part in the operation, on condition that they would divide the money A.A. paid H.M.M. among them.
The Ajman warehouse was raided by Dubai Police and Ajman Police found 7.5 million pills in the presses in the Ajman warehouse, and more than 10.2 million were found in Jebel Ali.
Maj Gen Al Mazeina said this gang could be linked to the same gang caught recently by Abu Dhabi Police, in which pills were smuggled in the same way, adding that further testing needs to be done to confirm this.
“The UAE was just a transit country in this operation, as the shipment was intended to be shipped again to a neighbouring GCC country. The UAE does not have any Captagon abusers.”
Abu Dhabi Police helped arrest M.R. in his home in Abu Dhabi, and A.S.A. was the one arrested in Saudi Arabia, while A.A. remains at large.
Captagon ia an amphetamine-type of drug.
Earlier this year, Dubai Police were able to seize 4.89 million Captagon pills that were smuggled in two metal tanks.
