Video: Dubai Police foil bid to smuggle Dh500 million worth of cocaine

Dubai - The consignment is the region’s largest drug seizure

The Dubai Police have thwarted an international syndicate’s bid to smuggle over 500kg of cocaine. The illegal consignment, which has a street value of Dh500 million, was seized from a cargo container in an operation codenamed ‘Scorpion’.

The police said the operation resulted in the region’s largest drug seizure. A suspect, who is from a Middle Eastern country, has been arrested for operating as an intermediary in the UAE for the international drug syndicate.

Brigadier Eid Mohammed Thani Hareb, director of Anti-Narcotics Department, said the suspect was placed under round-the-clock surveillance after the police received a tip-off about the bid to smuggle the large amount of cocaine.

"An investigating team was immediately formed to verify the security tip. It monitored the suspect's movements until he received the expected narcotics shipment.

“Once the shipment arrived, the suspect transported the illegal drugs to another emirate and stored them in a warehouse to promote and sell the drugs,” Brig. Hareb added.

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How the suspect was arrested

Colonel Khalid bin Muwaiza, deputy director of the Anti-Narcotics Department, said the suspect had rented an SUV. He bought angle grinders and other cutting tools to unload the container.

"At the zero hour, our officers raided the warehouse, caught the man red-handed and seized the narcotics," Col. bin Muwaiza added.

The suspect, who has a criminal record in his country, confessed to the crime. He has been referred to the public prosecution for further legal action.

• Dubai