Smuggling of rare animal products rising

Cases of rare and endangered animal products entering the emirate have increased by more than 20 per cent, customs officials said yesterday.

"These smuggling cases are definitely increasing," said Abdul Rahman Al Saleh, Senior Executive Director of Corporate Affairs at Dubai Customs. "There were 145 cases filed in 2008 with regard to attempting to bring in products of rare and endangered species of animals and birds, compared to 119 cases in 2007."

Items included stuffed animals like lions, crocodiles, rare birds, falcons, foxes, deer, but mostly ivory tusks.

"About 125 of the cases in 2008 were elephant tusks, the year before that there were 91 elephant tusks," said Al Saleh. He noted that the UAE has been a member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) since 1990.

Mohammad Al Merri, Executive Director of Customs and Cargo, said, "It is unlikely that the final destination of these products is Dubai. Many of these are used in making products such as bags and shoes and that kind of production is not here."

He added that many of the cases include people who come to the country in transit carrying them as souvenirs.

"We have set up a dedicated section to handle these cases," said Yousuf Al Sahlawi, Executive Director of Customs Policies and Legislations.