Dubai police seized 93 kilograms of cocaine coming from Brazil with a street value of 140 million dirhams ($52.3 million), local media said Wednesday, December 14.

The UAE daily Al-Bayan cited police officials saying the drugs, hidden in three suitcases, were on route to a third country. The report did not give further details.

This is the largest shipment of drugs seized in the Middle East this year, according to Al-Bayan, which said that Brazilian and Dubai officials were coordinating their investigation into the origin of the drugs, AFP reported

Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, has very strict drug laws. Trafficking in illegal narcotics is punishable by death, though the sentences are often changed to life imprisonment.