'Buttons of Poison': Dubai Police seize 89,000 Captagon pills worth Dhs4.4m hidden in clothing buttons

 The Dubai Police have arrested a gang of three individuals who had attempted to smuggle 89,760 Captagon pills, weighing 18.931 kilogrammes and estimated to be worth Dhs4.488 million, which were hidden inside clothing buttons.

The arrests were made in collaboration with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) in Saudi Arabia. 

The Dubai Police stated that the operation, which they named "Buttons of Poison", forms part of the Dubai Police General Command's ongoing efforts to combat drugs and to protect young people from such harm. 

The operation was successful thanks to the implementation of a comprehensive security plan, which involved surveillance of the suspects' movements in coordination with other police departments. This resulted in the identification of a gang that had hidden drugs in an apartment in Dubai and another emirate. 

The Dubai Police explained that reliable information had been forwarded to the relevant teams indicating that a gang of three individuals — two Arab nationals and one Asian — had planned to receive a quantity of drugs and psychotropic substances in the country. 

The gang intended to smuggle the narcotics to a neighbouring country under the instruction of their leader in his home country.

A specialised task force was formed immediately and all legal procedures were followed. This included obtaining a permit from the Dubai Public Prosecution Office to arrest the suspects and search them, their vehicle and their residence. 

Under close surveillance 

The Dubai Police added that they had placed the suspects under close surveillance in preparation for their arrest. The suspects repeatedly attempted to change the location of the drugs, treating them as merchandise and moving them from one place to another. However, anti-narcotics personnel were monitoring their every move. 

The Dubai Police indicated that the anti-narcotics personnel had set a time for the arrest of the accused. Following close surveillance, the suspects' residence was raided and searched. 

Exposing their crime 

The gang members were confident that the police would not be able to detect the drugs hidden inside the buttons of their clothes. They believed that this method of concealment was professional and difficult to detect, and that the clothes were ordinary items that would be exported or sold. 

However, they were taken by surprise by the sharp intelligence and experience of the anti-narcotics officers, who discovered the drugs hidden inside the buttons. 

The Dubai Police said that, thanks to God Almighty, the wisdom, experience and skill of their anti-narcotics personnel, and their high level of capability and potential to deal with these gangs, they were able to uncover their criminal schemes, bring down their leaders and dismantle their organisations, as well as deal with their new concealment methods. 

These qualitative field operations demonstrate the progress and high level of efficiency of the security teams in carrying out their duties. They show their adoption of advanced methods for detecting crime and their ability to develop well-thought-out security plans using the latest equipment and technologies to combat crime.