Anti-drug operation nets 1m illegal Captagon pills

Rasha Elass

• Last Updated: November 06. 2009 10:08PM UAE / November 6. 2009 6:08PM GMT

DUBAI // More than one million capsules of the illegal stimulant Captagon have been confiscated in the past nine months, police said yesterday.

A recent operation involving the Interior Ministry, Dubai Police and Sharjah Police recovered 400,000 pills that were passing though the UAE on their way to other countries, said Abdul Jalil al Asmawi, the director of the anti-narcotic department.

Earlier this year, Dubai Customs found 651,000 Captagon pills hidden inside 152 industrial-sized spools of thread.

Captagon, also known as fenethylline, has been illegal in most countries for the past 20 years.

It has become popular among Arab youths, who use it recreationally, to stay awake or as a weight-loss aid.

Doctors at the National Rehabilitation Centre in Abu Dhabi said most of the patients being treated there had abused Captagon.

Dubai Police said they arrested 77 suspects in 47 drug cases over the past nine months, including many who were using the UAE as a transit point for delivering merchandise to neighbouring countries.

They have recovered a total of 1.5 million illegal pills with a street value of $15 million (Dh55m), they said.

“Successful collaboration across departments has resulted in the largest and most effective cases,” Mr al Aswami said.

He said two recent operations nabbed drug makers in Gharhoud and Umm al Qaiwain, and another resulted in the confiscation of 202kg of heroin.

Five months ago, the UN’s World Drug Report said the Emirates was increasingly being used by criminals as a trafficking point for illegal drugs.

In July, a UN official called for tougher controls at Jebel Ali, Dubai’s main port.

Antonia Maria Costa, the director of the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime, recommended more checks on container vessels coming into the country.

Scanners and other measures such as sniffer dogs are routinely used to check cargo at Jebel Ali.



relass@thenational.ae

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