Dubai Customs foil attempt to smuggle in archeological remains
Customs inspector found archeological items hidden inside chairs pads
Dubai: Dubai Customs foiled an attempt to smuggle in archeological remains of Iraqi origin including statues, a vase, a cup and coins that date back to the Sassanid and Hellenistic eras and which were found inside a customs parcel entering through the Cargo Inspection Section of the Free Zone Inspection Centre at Dubai Airport.
While examining an Arab person's customs declaration, which contain some kitchen kits and a radio, the inspector found the archeological items hidden inside chairs pads.
Mohammad Mattar Al Merri, Executive Director of Dubai Customs Cargo Operations, confirmed that in spite of the smugglers' attempts to smuggle in different prohibited goods, taking advantage of Dubai and the UAE's unique location, Dubai Customs goes the extra mile and invests in HR and technical resources in order to bolster its worldwide reputation in combating smuggling.
Omar Al Muhiry, Senior Manager of Air Freight, said Dubai Customs has an outstanding panel of customs inspectors who regularly foil smuggling attempts due to their vigilance and the training programmes they receive inline with the latest international standards.
The archeological items, included three bronze statues, an ornamental vase, a glazed pottery cup decorated with fish images as well as coins which date back to the Sassanid (226 -651 A.C) and Hellenistic (which started in 323 B.C and lasted for 300 years) eras.
Inline with the mutual cooperation and coordination with the Tourism and Commerce Marketing Department in Dubai, an archaeologist examined the seizures and said that they are a collection of Iraqi valuable archaeologies which are not allowed to be taken out of Iraq.
The violator was investigated and interrogated in accordance with the Unified Customs Law of the GCC, which states that attempting to bring in such kind of goods is considered a crime (smuggling). Afterwards, the necessary legal measures were taken.
Dubai Customs previously foiled one of the biggest archaeological items’ smuggling attempts in the region when it caught more than 100 archaeological items hidden inside a ship coming to Dubai, dating back to different ancient ages.
