Every few days criminals come up with ridiculously insane ideas to smuggle drugs. Thankfully, UAE authorities are one step ahead of them. No matter how creative their efforts to hide drugs might be, most traffickers are invariably caught - like this guy who, as reported last week, was nabbed at Dubai Airport trying to smuggle over 3kg of heroin hidden under leg bandages. MAZHAR FAROOQUI rounds up 10 other equally inventive drug smuggling methods UAE authorities busted in recent times.
1 HEADY TREAT February 2012
Chocolates are addictive, but four boxes of Ferrero Rocher chocolates seized from an Asian woman at Sri Lanka's Colombo airport following a tip-off by Dubai Police would have satisfied more than just a sweet tooth. The tasty treats, made famous by its TV commercial, ‘With These Rocher You're Really Spoiling Us', contained 1.5kg of cocaine.
2 MASK SLIPS February 2012
Carnival masks are a centuries-old Venetian tradition. They are worn during the Carnival of Venice and other fun occasions to hide the wearer's identity and social status. An African drug trafficker thought the masks could be used to hide drugs too — 2.5kg of it. But the idea went flying in his face when UAE authorities got whiff of his plan and alerted their Cape Town counterparts.
3 HARD DRIVE October 2011
When customs officials at Dubai Airport asked a Nigerian passenger to switch on her laptop, they were certainly not looking for hidden files. Expertly hidden inside the laptop was 1.8kg of methamphetamine. Some of it was found in the laptop charger too. She was indicted for drug trafficking and the charge stuck.
4 THAT STUFFY FEELING October 2011
Drug mules go to incredible lengths to hide their stashes. But very few can measure up to this Indonesian woman. She filled a condom with crystal drugs and put it in her uterus before boarding a Dubai flight. The inconceivable idea didn't work. When officials at Dubai Airport noticed her awkward gait and took her aside for questioning, she promptly confessed. We guess she was scared stiff.
5 WHAT'S REVVING THE ENGINE October 2011
This story is scary because it resulted in one of the world's biggest drug bust in the past three years. In a desperate act of pure genius, smugglers hid 213kg of amphetamine valued at Dh40 million inside the engine parts of an Iranian ship. It was all smooth sailing until seven pieces of unregistered equipment abroad the ship aroused suspicion.
6 BITTER FRUIT June 2011
Hiding 58kg drugs in oranges might seem a bizarre idea, but some smugglers did just that. They sneaked in Dh4 million worth of heroin in 2,565 cartons of oranges through Jebel Ali Port before moving the shipment to a warehouse in Al Aweer. But before they could transport the contraband elsewhere, Dubai Police swooped on the warehouse. The police operation was aptly called Orange Harvest and as the two smugglers caught in the raid will agree, it was very fruitful.
7 UNDER WHERE March 2011
The memo was brief. Sure enough, when an African woman landed at Dubai Airport, authorities knew exactly what to look for and where. They detained her and got a woman officer to search her. The officer found 750gm of narcotic crystals glued to the woman's underwear. In July 2010, a British transit passenger was also caught in similar circumstances. He had two kilograms of cocaine hidden in his undergarment as he passed through Dubai Airport. He got 10 years in jail.
8 IT WAS ON THE CARDS? December 2010
Christmas cards are sent to share festive cheer. But some crafty criminals found an ingenious use for them. They concealed 1,751gm of marijuana and cocaine into a parcel containing Christmas cards and tried to smuggle it through the General Post Office of Dubai Cargo Village. Customs officials said the cards came from an Asian country and carried a Christmas message. It read: ‘This brings a special wish your way to brighten up your Christmas day.'
9 HEAVY METAL August 2010
Customs officials rely on instinct. So when they found this African passenger looking more nervous than a turkey in December, they asked him to unpack his unusually heavy luggage. Inside were 24 large metal screws. Each one of them had been hollowed to hide cocaine. The total haul was 8.4kg with an estimated street value of Dh2 million.
10 NUTTY IDEA January 2009
Drug dealers will hollow out pretty much anything to conceal drugs. But this painstaking effort really sparkles with originality and creativity. Seriously, who'd hollow out thousands of almonds to conceal drugs. But some drug traffickers did just that to stash away 16kg of pure heroine. Sadly for them, customs officers at Dubai Airport got suspicious of one of the gang members as he waited for the baggage. Moral of the story in a nutshell: Drug smugglers, you are no match for the skills of our officers.
