Dubai Customs seizes 3kg of opium hidden in wooden toys

Dubai:  Dubai Customs inspectors managed to seize 3kg of opium hidden inside wooden toys on a transit flight coming from an Asian country heading to a European country.

A Customs inspector at Dubai Cargo Village suspected the parcel which contained a carton with four wooden toys and a bag as per the bill of lading. He noticed some lumpiness when he checked the parcel through the X-ray machine.

K9-Dogs Squad and the Customs mobile laboratory were brought in to check the cargo and both confirmed that it contained 3kg of opium.

The contents of the parcel were transferred to the General Department of Anti-Narcotics at Dubai Police and later sent to the European country. Related information was communicated to authorities there and the cargo owners were arrested.

Omar Ahmad Al Muhairi, senior manager of air freight, stressed that inspectors' efforts to deter smuggling are in line with the customs mission to protect the society against all that threatens the UAE community.

Al Muhairi praised customs for providing inspectors with specialised training, noting they deal with a huge amount of cargo.

He added: "Customs employs the most qualified national cadres and equips them with hi-tech inspection devices worldwide, which undoubtedly does not make it easy for smugglers to persist with their twisted and illegal techniques."