'Toxic buttons': Dubai police foil deadly pill smuggling bid

Dubai Police have foiled a major drug smuggling attempt, seizing narcotics valued at more than Rs340 million and arresting three suspects in a high-level anti-narcotics operation.

Officials said the operation, codenamed “Toxic Buttons”, led to the arrest of two Arab nationals and one Asian. 

Police confiscated 89,760 Captagon tablets, a banned stimulant, that had been cleverly concealed inside clothing buttons in an attempt to evade detection.

The drugs, with an estimated street value of AED4.48 million (approximately Rs340 million), were reportedly intended for smuggling into a neighbouring country.

Experts warn that Captagon, often referred to as the “poor man’s cocaine,” is a dangerous stimulant that temporarily boosts energy and alertness but causes long-term harm to the brain, heart, and nervous system.