The pills were concealed in hidden parts of the Gulf national's luxury car.

Authorities at Dubai Customs have foiled an attempt to smuggle 79,477 captagon pills (14.5kg) at Hatta Border Crossing customs centre. The illegal shipment was discovered on 1st November in a hidden place of a Gulf national's car who tried to get away with it by concealing it in hidden parts of his luxury car. Inspection officers suspected the man after reading his body language at the border.

Consequently, the car was thoroughly inspected, and 1.28 grammes of crystal meth were also seized in the operation, aka Code H Operation. Recent years have seen increasing attempts to smuggle captagon pills in the region. “Dubai Customs has advanced customs systems in place, and the inspectors are highly trained to thwart all types of smuggling attempts,” said Humaid Al Rasheed, Director of Land Customs Centres Management.

“We follow the best international practices fulfilling the requirements of Dubai Customs’ strategic plan 2021-2026 towards a global safe customs and to protect our society in the best possible way.” On his part, Hamad Kajour, Director of Hatta Border Crossing commended the inspector’s performance in thwarting restricted and prohibited items.

“The Centre has dealt with 53,466 vehicles in the first nine months this year, which means an average of 200 vehicles and 160 trucks a day. This is a big number that necessitates alertness, swiftness, accuracy and professionalism. We have made 97 seizures in the first nine months this year,” Kajour said.