Dubai Police have thwarted a criminal gang trying to smuggle almost 90,000 Captagon tablets hidden in the buttons of clothes.
Under the operation, carried out with the co-operation of authorities in Saudi Arabia, police raided the premises of the gang and discovering the capsules concealed inside the buttons.
The drugs, weighing 18.9kg and valued at Dh4.48 million, were seized before they could be trafficked abroad, police said on Sunday.
Dubai Police launched Operation Toxic Buttons after receiving information about a gang, comprising of two Arabs and one Asian, who were preparing to move the drugs out of the UAE - on the orders of another person out overseas.
The suspects’ movements, vehicles and residences were placed under surveillance, which led to police discovering the drugs in a Dubai apartment, as well as a property in another emirate.
Clamp down on Captagon
The National previously reported how Sharjah Police announced an attempt to distribute 3.5 million Captagon pills was successfully thwarted.
The illegal pills, weighing about 585kg, were believed to have had a street value of Dh19 million. The seizure came at the culmination of an operation known as Bottom of Darkness, the anti-narcotics department at Sharjah Police said.
Countries across the region have stepped up efforts to halt the smuggling of Captagon in recent years due to concerns over its widespread use.
Syria was the region's primary producer until the fall of former president Bashar Al Assad in December, although he had denied his government's involvement. The new administration has pledged to crack down on the production and trafficking of the drug.
In 2021, it was estimated the Syrian government generated more than $5 billion from the Captagon trade. The drug is transported to some Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, which has led to a string of high-profile seizures.
It was estimated that between 2019 and 2023, about 82 per cent of the Captagon seized in the Middle East originated from Syria, followed by Lebanon at 17 per cent.
According to the New Lines Institute, a US-based think tank, the global Captagon market is worth about $10 billion a year, with 80 per cent having been produced in Syria before the fall of Mr Al Assad.
The cross-border flow of the drug has long been viewed as a major national security threat in the Middle East. Billions of dollars a year in Captagon have crossed from Syria into other Arab countries since 2018.
One pill costs as little as a few US cents to produce, but high-quality pills have sold for as much as $20 each in Arab countries.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
SWEET%20TOOTH
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Company%C2%A0profile
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Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
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Company%20profile
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Remaining fixtures
Third-place-play-off: Portugal v Mexico, 4pm on Sunday
Final: Chile v Germany, 10pm on Sunday
Could%20We%20Be%20More
%3Cp%3EArtist%3A%20Kokoroko%3Cbr%3ELabel%3A%20Brownswood%20Recordings%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
LIST OF INVITEES
Shergo Kurdi (am)
Rayhan Thomas
Saud Al Sharee (am)
Min Woo Lee
Todd Clements
Matthew Jordan
AbdulRahman Al Mansour (am)
Matteo Manassero
Alfie Plant
Othman Al Mulla
Shaun Norris
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
Countries offering golden visas
UK
Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.
Germany
Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.
Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.
Switzerland
Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.
Canada
Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence.
