Dubai Customs has seized a massive haul of marijuana from an African country that was disguised in shipment bags labeled as red onions.
The government body said customs officials became suspicious of the air freight shipment and carried out a thorough examination using X-ray detection devices which revealed varying densities in the images, leading to the discovery of 14.85 kilograms of marijuana.
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Another shipment from the same African country arrived several hours later, describing similar goods (red onion bags), but with different exporter names. Further inspections revealed another 11.6 kilograms of marijuana.
Mohamed Abdullah al-Suwaidi, the senior manager of Cargo Village Customs Center, said the seizure reflected Dubai Customs’ exceptional capabilities in safeguarding the emirate’s customs outlets against the smuggling of prohibited and restricted substances.
He highlighted the officers’ analytical skills and precise examination using specialized devices to uncover certain densities in bags within the shipments. “These bags were meticulously inspected manually, confirming the presence of the narcotic substance,” he said.
Al-Suwaidi said Dubai Customs has invested in training and equipping its officers with the knowledge and tools, including state-of-the-art X-ray machines, to detect counterfeit goods and narcotic substances.
Last month, Dubai Customs thwarted an attempt to smuggle 234,000 Tramadol pills, a class of drugs known as opioid analgesics, from an Asian country concealed within a shipment of towels.
The officers at the Sea Customs Centers in Jebel Ali and Tecom, during the examination process, detected various densities and variations in the towel shipment through radiation inspection devices.
