Man caught flying into Dubai with 76 watches under his shirt

He was caught after the X-ray revealed the smuggled jewellery under his clothes

A Dubai Customs vigilant inspector have managed to foil a passenger's attempt to smuggle 76 luxury wrist watches and six precious jewels studded with diamonds worth around Dh3,016,000.

The suspect, a European national, arrived in at the airport onboard a Dubai-bound flight from an East Asian country, said Ibrahim Kamali, Director of passenger operations at Dubai Customs.

"He was stopped by customs officers at terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport, carrying the haul of fancy jewellery and watches strapped around his body under his clothes."

Inspectors of Passenger Operations Department became suspicious about the man's behavior and carefully monitored him till he arrived at the customs zone, Kamali added.

"He was then x-rayed with a full-body scanner only to find smuggled jewellery and watches skillfully concealed under his clothes."

A seizure report was initiated on the smuggling case and the suspect was referred to the competent authorities together with the seized items to initiate legal action, he stated.

"The suspect was trying to illegally import the precious items into the country while evading payment of customs duty," he said.

"But the method he used proved to be a failure in front of the intact inspection and security system of Dubai Customs."

Kamali said his staffers were alert to any such smuggling attempts and ready to tackle anyone suspected. "The seizure is a case of smuggling and duty evasion which our inspectors are always vigilant and adept to abort so as to protect customs revenues and Dubai's economy."

"Some people adopt this technique of smuggling dutiable, must-be-declared goods in commercial quantities inside their clothes to avoid paying customs fees. But Dubai airports are equipped with highly developed scanning technology that detects any objects in people's bodies," he pointed out.

No matter how crafty the methods used by smugglers, they will not get past Dubai Customs' technology, professionalism and body language expertise, he said.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai