On patrol with the Dubai Customs airport drug squad


Salam Al Amir
  • English
  • Arabic

Heroin hidden in wheelchairs, vape pods containing CBD oil, LSD-laced stamps, marijuana concealed in crisp packets and gold woven into clothes. These were among the most bizarre seizures made by customs officers at Dubai International Airport this year.

Officials made 131 seizures while processing more than two million passengers and four million bags during the first three months of 2021.

Attempts to smuggle nearly 56kg of drugs were foiled, with cocaine, heroin and marijuana among the substances seized. A total of 3,950 illegal pills were also found.

Contraband has been hidden in food boxes, wheelchairs, wigs, almonds, spices, oil bottles and honey jars
Faisal Al Shurafa,
Dubai customs

Every day, customs officers observe passengers’ behaviour and body language to profile suspects. Passengers are then searched using advanced equipment to identify suspicious objects.

Methods used to conceal goods have become more ingenious, said senior inspection officer Faisal Al Shurafa.

“Contraband has been hidden in food boxes, wheelchairs, wigs, almonds, spices, oil bottles and honey jars,” said Mr Al Shurafa, who has been with Dubai Customs for 14 years.

Occasionally, those bringing in illegal items will hide them underneath religious books.

“This is to give inspectors an impression they are God-fearing people who wouldn’t smuggle illegal items,” he said.

Mr Al Shurafa recalled a case in which a passenger had not been pulled aside to be searched. Instead he confessed upon seeing the customs officers in uniform.

“He willingly approached us and handed a small amount of drugs he brought for personal use.”

Mr Al Shurafa explained that having seen his fair share of smuggling attempts over the years, the number one method is hiding contraband inside luggage, followed by concealing it inside passengers’ bodies.

“The strangest so far was the drugs concealed in hollowed out almonds,” he said.

“Almond bags were the only items inside the passenger’s bags. When our colleague held one almond it cracked in his hand and he discovered the drugs.”

“Criminals never stop getting more creative with their methods for smuggling, but we also continue to train so that no method is too hard for us,” Mr Al Shurafa said.

Another passenger was arriving on holiday with his family and had packed large amounts of drugs to sell while in Dubai.

“The funny part about this case is that his wife told us all about his illegal activity smuggling and selling drugs.”

Officials say that when reading body language, it is important to focus on the eyes.

“If doing something illegal, the eyes will give one away and when we see that, we start focusing on movements that are out of place, like cracking fingers or such,” he said.

Passengers will then be approached and politely questioned.

“We ask normal questions, like ‘How are you?’ and ‘How was your trip?’, but we can tell if something is not right from the way a person answers.”

“It’s a huge challenge because given the number of passengers, I have only five seconds to detect suspicious individuals.”

Inspector Zaid Ali Al Shehhi, 28, specialises in detecting smuggled gold. He said sometimes people will declare it in the hope they will not be searched.

Mr Al Shehhi has also caught travellers hiding gold inside bottles, melting it into strips and wrapping it around their bodies or sewing it into their clothes.

“One passenger wrapped around one kilogram of molten gold around his body.”

Officers receive a lot of training on the types of drugs and illegal materials that might be smuggled into the country, and the various methods that criminals might use to evade detection.

“They are trained on how to use advanced equipment, read body language, analyse data and tell original products from fake ones,” said Khamees Al Muhairi, senior manager of Dubai Customs’ learning department.

Last year, customs officers underwent 8,994 hours of training and took 158 online courses.

Smugglers caught in the act: in pictures

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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
  • 2018: Formal work begins
  • November 2021: First 17 volumes launched 
  • November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
  • October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
  • November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

Company%20Profile
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FIGHT CARD

Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)

Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)

Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)

Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)

Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)

Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)

Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)

Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)

Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)

Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)

Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)

Poacher
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

The specs

Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 575bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: Dh554,000

On sale: now

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20turbocharged%204-cyl%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E300bhp%20(GT)%20330bhp%20(Modena)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E450Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh299%2C000%20(GT)%2C%20Dh369%2C000%20(Modena)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases

A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.

One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait,  Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.

In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.

The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.

And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.

 

Results

Stage Two:

1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45

2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix

3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates

4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma

5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ

General Classification:

1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03

2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04

3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06

4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10

5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12

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SECRET%20INVASION
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Grand Slam Los Angeles results

Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos

Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
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BRAZIL SQUAD

Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ovo's tips to find extra heat
  • Open your curtains when it’s sunny 
  • Keep your oven open after cooking  
  • Have a cuddle with pets and loved ones to help stay cosy 
  • Eat ginger but avoid chilli as it makes you sweat 
  • Put on extra layers  
  • Do a few star jumps  
  • Avoid alcohol   
Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

3,000

The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

Updated: April 06, 2022, 11:00 AM`