Abu Dhabi: Two attempts to smuggle more than Dh9.5 million into the UAE have been foiled by UAE Customs authorities recently, the General Administration of Customs, Abu Dhabi, said on Monday.
In separate incidents at Al Ghuwaifat Customs Centre, two Asians were caught attempting to smuggle the money into the UAE without disclosing the amount to relevant authorities.
In one instance, Customs officials became suspicious during a routine inspection of vehicles coming in through the land border. An Asian was found with an unusual load in the trunk and manual inspections revealed Dh6.85 million concealed in a bag also containing clothes.
In another incident, Customs inspectors identified a secret compartment in a package wrapped in tape. After extracting the package from under the compartment, they found cash amounting to Dh2.64 million in Saudi riyals
Both men admitted during subsequent investigations that the cash that had been seized had not been disclosed according to the UAE cash disclosure law, and they were transferred to the authorities concerned for legal action.
Commenting on the two incidents, Mohammad Khadem Al Hameli, acting director-general at the General Administration of Customs – Abu Dhabi, praised the preparedness and alertness of Customs inspectors, as well as their role in protecting the UAE’s borders and citizens from the risks of illegal trade.
“The Disclosure of Cash law is implemented for statistical purposes only and is associated with international standards that the UAE is committed to. There are no restrictions on the amount of money one can bring into or take out of the country if the money is disclosed as per the adopted laws,” Al Hameli said.
In September 2011, the UAE Central Bank implemented a decision to raise the minimum rate for disclosure systems of monetary amounts and instruments. For instance, travellers’ cheques and bearer bonds that can be converted into cash can be carried by travellers entering or leaving the UAE, ranging from Dh40,000 to Dh100,000, or an equivalent amount in foreign currencies.
