44 seizures in the first quarter of 2011
Dubai Customs prepares to share the world celebrations of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on 26th June. The department views the issue of securing society and protecting Dubai outlets from prohibited materials, including drugs, as a priority.
H.E. Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Executive Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Dubai Customs Director General said that celebrating the occasion serves as an opportunity to highlight the dangers of drug trafficking and the need for more international cooperation and coordination to combat this crime which jeopardizes human health, society solidarity, and international economic potentials.
Dubai Customs Director General said that Dubai enjoys a very strategic location and is considered a strong financial and business hub, and this is why it is always targeted by smugglers who mistakenly believe that due to large volume of trade transactions passing from, to and through Dubai will help them smuggle their drugs easily. Nonetheless; figures reveal the opposite, as the number of drug seizures which Dubai Customs carried out in the first quarter of 2011amounted to 44 seizures.
Ahmed Butti explained that Dubai Customs has managed to foil 414 drug smuggling attempt in 2010 in the Dubai customs' 19 land, sea and air outlets. The seized drugs includes heroin, cocaine, marijuana, crystal, opium and cannabis, he said.
" What the department does in this regard is a national task in the first place and an integral part of the department's core business because it is the first protection line of society from these dangerous materials which reflects negatively on public health and life of the youth.
" The department sends its inspectors to attend courses and workshops to help them identify different types of drugs, smuggling methods, body language and how to use the latest inspection equipment.
"The achievements of Dubai Customs in this regard in the last years serve as a lesson for all drug cliques to know that Dubai is not and will never be an easy passage point, neither will it be a place to circulate and spread this illegal trade" he concluded.
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© Press Release 2011
