Dubai: Dubai Customs foiled an attempt to smuggle a large haul of cocaine weighing 171.2 kilograms with a street value estimated at more than Dh200 million.
The seized narcotics, one of the largest seizures of its kind in the UAE over the past five years, were found in a shipment of fresh bananas totalling 45 tonnes.
The consignment arrived at the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai from a Latin American country via Europe. The illicit drugs were concealed the cocaine in boxes of fresh bananas.
Ahmed Al Kharusi, Director of Customs Intelligence Department at Dubai Customs, said that the successful operation falls within the agency's strategy to combat illicit trafficking and preserve the security and safety of the community, especially young people who need protection against the harmful toxin.
Team work
Al Kharusi pointed out that the huge drug haul was the fruit of the teamwork of various Customs departments based on an effective risk analysis.
He said the Customs Intelligence Department collected and assessed intelligence data and conducted field monitoring with the Jebel Ali Inspection Centre.
The suspect shipment was then immediately confiscated upon arrival at the port.
Al Kharusi revealed that smugglers have resorted to a number of tactics to pass through Customs inspection undetected, such as using sorcery items, adding extra lead on the container, painting narcotic bags with an organic substance to fool customs dogs, changing the shipping route to a European port then to Jebel Ali Port, instead of taking a direct route to Jebel Ali Port.
Nevertheless, Customs inspectors were able to deter all their tactics and thwart the smuggling operation.
He said Customs officers are the community’s first line of defence.
The consignment was first exposed to the X-ray screening device, followed by a k-9 unit inspection. Moreover, the Dubai Customs Mobile Lab was summoned to analyse a sample of the suspicious substance, declaring it cocaine.
The Al Khuroosi further said that the seized narcotics, in the light of their volume and smuggling method, were intended for trafficking.
Drug dealers tend to use holiday seasons to optimise their profit, he said, but Customs inspectors will always stop them from getting their way.
