DUBAI: An unnamed person was arrested by Dubai Customs after attempting to smuggle some 500,000 Captagon pills at the Jebel Ali Port, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported. According to their report, the pills were found in a shipping container, hidden inside 77 rolls of fabric. The newspaper “7 Days” quoted a customs spokesman as saying: “Captagon, which is one of the most dangerous types of chemical drugs, were seized. “Officers became suspicious because some of the rolls of fabric seemed of higher density than others. Inspectors brought in dogs trained to sniff out drugs and found the 500,000 pills.” The container reportedly came from an Arab country and were en route to another unnamed neighbouring country of the United Arab Emirates. The drug, Fenethylline, most commonly known by its Captagon trademark, is one of the most popular drugs of abuse in the Middle East, according to the United Nations. A Dubai Customs spokesman said: “Smuggling gangs exploit the geographical location of the emirate of Dubai, increasing the responsibility of Dubai Customs as a first line of protection for society.” Dubai Customs also announced that during the second quarter of 2012 it intercepted 91 million Tramadol tablets at Jebel Ali Port, about 35 kilometers southwest of Dubai. All of the pills had arrived from an Asian country, said the daily.
