DUBAI, In conjunction with the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which is observed every year on 26th June, Dubai Customs announced they have made 398 seizures during Q1, 2021.
In the first quarter of this year, the Sea Customs Centres Management made six seizures, the Inland Customs Centres Management made 35 seizures, Passenger Operations Department made 131 seizures, and the Air Cargo Centres Management made 226 seizures. In 2020, the government department made 1,118 seizures through different entry points in Dubai.
Commenting on these figures, Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director-General of Dubai Customs said, “Protection is our strategic goal, and this is heavily embedded in the department’s 2021-2026 five-year plan. Our role at the frontlines is essential to ensure the safety and security of society. For that, we have equipped our customs centres with advanced inspection systems such as the container scanning system at Jebel Ali Port and the smart bag inspection system at Dubai airports. Along with this, we have developed the competencies of our inspection officers and raised the efficiency of the inspection process through continuous development and training.”
Dubai Customs operates a solid and coherent strategy to combat the smuggling of prohibited and restricted materials to ensure the safety and security of society and the prosperity and growth of the national economy consolidating the UAE’s standing as one of the safest nations worldwide.
The government department is managed with outstanding efficiency to combat and thwart all drugs smuggling attempts thanks to the alertness and professionalism of its inspection officers, full coordination between Customs departments, and advanced technologies and systems in place.
Dr. Abdullah Busnad, Executive Director of Customs Inspection Division at Dubai Customs said, “The Customs Inspection Division managed to thwart numerous smuggling attempts despite the devious technical tricks smugglers follow. The Siyaj security initiative developed in-house, has helped a lot in this regard. One of the recent seizures was a container in which 76.31kg of drugs, with a street value of AED47.5 million (30.15kg of crystal meth, and 46.16kg of cannabis) were skilfully hidden. We have also launched ‘A Safe Homeland Campaign’ to boost the efficiency of our customs centres, and it led to stopping the smuggling of three million Captagon pills.”
Customs inspection officers receive advanced training on different types of drugs, smuggling and counterfeiting methods and body language.
Shuaib Al Suwaidi, Director of Customs Intelligence Department said, “We have turned our entry points into an impenetrable wall against all smuggling attempts thanks to our advanced systems including the Smart Risk Engine, which Dubai Customs developed to detect and intercept suspicious shipments of all types. The Intelligence Department analyses and assesses data and tracks shipments coming into Dubai following coherent plans. Rafid service, the secure communication channel between Dubai Customs and the public, also plays an important role in effective communication and reporting any violations in this regard.”
Source: Emirates News Agency