Five men were arrested for allegedly smuggling more than 750,000 drugs in pill form and 115kg of Captagon that they hid in a drilling rig.
Dubai Police said they received a tip off that a drilling rig filled would drugs would be arriving at Al Hamriyah Port on board a ship coming from a neighbouring country.
"The information we received was confirmed by an investigation headed by Maj Gen Khalil Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs," said Brig Eid Hareb, Dubai Police's Anti-Narcotics Department director.
He said one of the suspects, a 45-year-old businessman, was arrested upon arriving at customs to release the drilling machine while the second suspect, a 33-year-old engineer, was arrested as he attempted to flee the country over the Hatta border.
"Two other suspects were arrested at their hotel room in one of the emirates while the fifth suspect was arrested in Dubai," said Brig Hareb.
Police found 783, 800 pills comprising three different types of drugs concealed inside a tube in the front part of the drill. They also found 115kg of Captagon wrapped in plastic bags in other parts of the machine.
The suspects – all of Arab origin - were referred to prosecutors to face trial.