Captagon: UAE intercepts $1 billion amphetamine haul

Police in the United Arab Emirates found and took away 13 tonnes of amphetamine pills that were being brought into the country hidden inside furniture.

Officers found over $1 billion (£810 million) worth of the drug called Captagon, after being notified about a suspicious shipping container.

A video was found of Dubai police breaking open wooden panels and doors where they found 86 million hidden pills.

Called “the cheap version of cocaine,” Captagon is said to be a highly favored drug among young people in the Gulf region.

The police didn’t say where the illegal shipment came from, but people think that Captagon is made in large amounts in Syria.

During the peak of the civil war, armed groups provided fighters with a highly addictive drug that often contained caffeine. The purpose was to give the fighters extra bravery and confidence.

Many poor Syrians have been forced to join the illegal Captagon trade, which is worth a lot of money.

Even though the Syrian government has denied it, reports suggest that important people in the business and military sectors are involved in making and selling Captagon.

Dubai police found and took control of five large containers that were holding 13 tons of pills during a big operation.

The video they shared showed police following the containers and watching suspicious people. They also showed the police taking apart 651 doors and 432 wooden panels to find the drugs.

A group of criminals from different countries made a plan to send drugs in containers to the UAE and then move them to another country. Maj Gen Eid Mohammed Thani Hareb, who leads the police’s anti-drugs department, provided this information.

An X-ray machine and a team of police dogs helped find the stolen goods, he said.

Six individuals were taken into custody during the mission.

It is thought to be one of the biggest collections ever stopped.

In 2020, authorities found 14,000 kilograms of Captagon pills hidden in drums that looked like paper and gear wheels in Italy. In another incident, last year Saudi Arabia discovered 46 million amphetamine pills, which were smuggled along with flour.