Diamonds in the guts of two

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Diamonds in the guts of two

Over 1kg of rough diamonds, worth Dh4 million, was discovered in the guts of two Arab passengers who were attempting to smuggle the precious stone through the Dubai International Airport.

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Published: Mon 26 Nov 2012, 9:34 AM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 11:46 AM

A Dubai Customs senior official said the diamond pieces were extracted from the guts of the passengers, in two separate incidents, but both at Terminal 1.

Ali Al Mughawi, Director of Airports Operations Department at Dubai Customs, said the suspects concealed the 1.016kg of diamond, equivalent to 5,080 carat, in their bowels to evade customs duties.

Khaleej Times“The smugglers, to mislead the customs officers, came from two African countries. However, the vigilant inspectors nabbed them.”

Al Mughawi said the first case was thwarted at Terminal 1. “The first Arab passenger, looking confused and hesitant, arousing inspectors’ suspicion.”

Having found nothing in his bags upon manual search, the suspect was asked to go through a body scan, where some murky substances were detected in his guts. “When interrogated, the man admitted they were rough diamond stones weighing 316g or 1,580 carat.”

Al Muqhawi said though the second passenger proceeded to the gold office to declare rough diamonds and submitted the Kimberly regulatory certification, his dubious acts aroused inspectors’ suspicion.

“A stomach scan showed murky objects in his guts which later proved to be rough diamonds weighing 700gm or 3,500 carat.” The two seizures and suspects were then referred to the Dubai Police office at Dubai Airport for legal action.

Al Muqhawi said trading in rough diamonds was governed by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) issued by the United Nations General Assembly in the year 2000.

“A certificate that cannot be forged, known as ‘Kimberley Certificate’ must be issued in line with globally approved criteria and national laws of diamond-producing countries or countries that trade and manufacture diamonds.”

He said the UAE was the first country in the Arab World to be a signatory to the KPCS, ensuring all rough diamonds imported to the UAE have been mined in a legitimate manner.

ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com


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