Dubai Police seize a million Captagon pills stashed in plastic lemons

The drugs had a street value of about $15m and were hidden in a shipment of real lemons

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  The Captagon pills were hidden inside plastic lemons. Photo: Dubai Police

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  The shipment was then concealed in a consignment of real lemons. Photo: Dubai Police

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  The shipment had an estimated street value of $15.8 million. Photo: Dubai Police

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  Dubai Customs at the Hatta border foiled an attempt to smuggle 14.5kg of Captagon into the emirate. Photo: Dubai Customs

Dubai Police have foiled an attempt to smuggle more than a million Captagon pills into the emirate by hiding them in a shipment of lemons.

The drugs, with a street value of $15.8 million, were seized after officers were tipped off about the shipment.

When it arrived in Dubai, officers tracked its movement out of the port to an undisclosed location.

“One of the suspects then locked himself inside the container for nearly two hours separating the fake lemons from the real ones,” said Brig Eid Hareb, director of Dubai police’s anti-narcotics department.

“There were 3,849 boxes of lemons of which 66 contained plastic lemons," said Brig Hareb. "Inside of [the plastic lemons] the Captagon pills were stashed.”

Police detained four Arab suspects but their nationality was not disclosed. It was also not revealed when the drugs were seized.

Separately, Dubai Customs on November 1 found 79,477 Captagon pills (14.5kg) stashed inside a vehicle at the Hatta checkpoint. They also found 1.28 grams of crystal methamphetamine.

Dubai Customs became suspicious after observing the body language of the man behind the wheel.

The man, from a GCC country, was stopped with his car for inspection at the Hatta border, where a total of 53,466 vehicles had been checked in the first nine months of this year.

The department says there has been a sharp increase in Captagon smuggling attempts this year, with 98 seizures reported between January and September.