Dubai foils 2,169 bids to smuggle contraband in 2019

Dubai - These included 1,222 seizures of different types of narcotic drugs.

The Dubai Customs have foiled 2,169 attempts to smuggle contraband into the emirate last year.
"These included 1,222 seizures of different types of narcotic drugs: 8.6kg of cocaine, 4.4kg of heroin, 7.9kg of marijuana, 61,930 narcotic pills and 25 drug muling attempts," said Ibrahim Kamali, director of the passenger operations department of Dubai Customs.
The department handled 45,622,549 luggages on 208,812 flights coming to Dubai in 2019, according to the senior official.
Smooth traffic of passengers and luggage is a priority, with zero tolerance of security issues, he pointed out.
"The department makes best use of advanced inspection systems and technologies to ensure passengers are satisfied and airport is secured."
During holiday season, the number of inspection officers at the airport is increased to 725 who work on shifts round the clock, he pointed out.
"We have 77 screening systems in place to cover small and large cargo."
In 2019, the department processed 74,441 customs transactions, he disclosed.
"We also bagged 14 awards and appreciation certificates scoring 4.27 out of 5 on the ACI's passenger happiness meter."
This year, the target is 4.5 on the meter and there will be more artificial intelligence (AI) systems involved to best cope with the increasing number of passengers, especially with Expo 2020 round the corner, he underlined.
"We have launched the iDeclare application, which enables passengers coming to Dubai to declare their money and personal belongings before arrival, and this reduces passengers' waiting time from 25 minutes to only 5 minutes."
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai