Dubai- Dubai Customs managed to seize 11.4 kg of opium on a transit flight heading from Asia and on its way to a western country passing through Dubai International Airport.
While performing the regular inspection procedures, a customs inspector working at the Parcels Post at Dubai Cargo Village in Dubai International Airport has suspected the contents of a postal parcel that was two cartoon boxes loaded with rolls of cloths and curtains tools. While checking them through the radiation detector machine, the inspector noticed a murky dark material, and so he contacted the Technical Support Unit at Dubai Customs where the Customs K9 Unit- Dogs Unit was brought into the scene to sniff the suspected parcels. After opening the two boxes, some reels were discovered hidden under the curtains materials, after checking the cloths, 8 pieces of opium were found ducked with a tape and sprayed with black pepper to cover the smell and to mislead and deceive authorities.
Mr. Mohammed Mattar Al Marri, Executive Director of Dubai Customs Cargo Operations has praised the precision of the inspector who discovered the smuggled drugs as he was sharp and not deceived by the attempt. He also thanked the Customs Inspectors Team for their great efforts of protecting the local community and whatever threatens individuals' safety, security and health contributing to the good reputation Dubai Customs enjoys for fighting smuggling on an international level.
Mr. Al Marri has stated that:" Customs inspectors show precision at work as they are not tricked by smugglers which reflects that Dubai Customs gives a great interest to developing its staffs' skills- especially customs inspectors- by having them take specialized training courses, and developing their professional competencies. The Department also seeks to introduce the most modern and advanced inspection and check-up tools and equipments".
Regarding that the shipping is a transit-flight that is not heading to the local community, he said:" there are international conventions that regulate such issues and allow the concerned parties to search the shipment as long as its content is suspected, or has been reported as being suspicious by other countries, and since the detected postal parcel had an insurance policy, it was mandatory to consider it a customs case".
He added that Dubai Customs seized the shipment and filed a record regarding that and eventually handed it in to the security concerned parties to take necessary procedures within the mutual cooperation and coordination approaches adopted by the governmental departments and according to the field of specialty of each department, to ensure the implementation of the Common Customs Law of the GCC.
