Dubai police have arrested four men of Arab nationality for trying to smuggle millions of dollars worth of Captagon pills which were concealed in plastic lemons into the UAE.
Captagon is an amphetamine-type stimulant manufactured mostly in Lebanon, although probably also in Iraq and Syria, and much of which is bound for Saudi Arabia.
The drugs with a street value of $15.8 million were seized after a tipoff, police Major General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri told media. A total of 1,160,500 pills were seized.
Amphetamine, the main metabolite of Captagon is a CNS stimulator that increases alertness, boosts concentration/physical performance, and provides a feeling of well-being, confidence, and aggression. It can be used for the treatment of obesity, narcolepsy, and attention deficit hyperactive disorder.
Mansouri said the illegal pills were “hidden in fake lemons in a shipment of lemons inside an incoming refrigerated container”.
Four suspects living in the UAE — “all nationals of the same Arab country” — were arrested.
Police said that inside the refrigerated container were “3,840 boxes of lemons, 66 of which had fake lemons containing the captagon pills”.
They released a video of the find, showing boxes with markings indicating their origin was Lebanon. Lebanon is often criticised by Gulf countries for not cooperating in the war against drugs, particularly captagon.
