Video: Massive drug bust in Dubai, 5.6 tonnes of captagon seized

Dubai - The market value of the seized pills would have been a whopping Dh1.8 billion.

The Dubai Police have revealed how man's best friend helped them bust a bid to smuggle drug pills with a street value of Dh1.8 billion. A special operation named after a police dog called Pule helped the cops seize 5.6 tonnes of Captagon pills. The gang - helmed by a 70-year-old Arab based in Sharjah - tried to smuggle the pills through a shipment of electricity cables from Syria to Jebel Ali. The shipment was to be reexported to another Arab country, investigations showed.
The septuagenarian suspect used to receive financial aid from a charity organisation after claiming to be unemployed, the police said.
Addressing a Press conference on Wednesday, Maj-Gen Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, said 'operation Pule 2' involved officers searching and investigating over 200 containers to detect the drugs. Within 10 days, the well-trained dog Pule sniffed out the entire illegal consignment.
The police's anti-narcotics division then monitored trucks used to transport the cables with the drugs to Sharjah and Ajman. The 15-day surveillance led the police to the four Arab smugglers - the 70-year-old, his assistant and two truck drivers - who were caught red-handed on January 28 this year.
Lt-Col Khalid bin Muwaiza, acting director of the anti-narcotics department, said further investigations revealed the smuggling bid was made in partnership with the 70-year-old suspect's brother, who is based in a "Eurasian country".
The police said Pule has previously helped the police bust three other drug smuggling bids.
Earlier this month, Lt-Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, had met and lauded the anti-narcotics team behind the massive operation.
Why Captagon was banned
The drug used to be prescribed to treat narcolepsy and depression, but the medical community determined that Captagon's addictive properties outweighed its clinical benefits in 1980.
How the mission was accomplished
>The police team and Pule the dog searched and investigated over 200 containers
>Within 10 days, the dog sniffed out all the drugs
>The police monitored trucks transporting the electric cables with the drugs
>After 15 days, the police arrested the gang red-handed
The elusive gang leader
>He is 70 years old and based in Sharjah
>He claimed to be unemployed and received financial aid from a charity organisation
>He ran the smuggling operation along with his brother who is based in a Eurasian country
hesham@khaleejtimes.com