Dubai Customs seizes 234,000 tramadol tablets concealed in towels

Officers at Dubai Customs have seized 234,000 tramadol tablets concealed in a shipment of towels.

The customs service said on Sunday that officers in Jebel Ali and Tecom had detected unusual variations in the shipment upon scanning it.

Further inspections revealed a cache of the painkiller concealed inside.

The shipment came from an Asian country, Dubai Customs said, but it did not identify the country, nor provide any further information about the seizure.

Ahmed Musabih, director general of Dubai Customs and chief executive of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, said Dubai has become an international model in how to tackle drugs, their associated risks and health hazards.

Rashid Al Suwaidi, acting director of sea customs management, said Dubai Customs remains committed to protecting society from the harmful effects of addiction to prohibited drugs.

The department focuses on training and equipping its staff with advanced technologies to detect smuggling attempts, irrespective of the diverse methods employed by smugglers, he said.

Dubai Customs deploys state-of-the-art measures to counter smuggling, including early warning systems to identify suspect shipments, X-ray detection, and specially trained K9 dog units.

For example, in September last year, a Dubai Customs task force foiled a plot to smuggle more than 200,000 doses of narcotics into the country.

The haul was valued at an estimated Dh6.2 million.

Unusual smuggling attempts - in pictures

Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri

Rating: 1/5

If you go

The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.

The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.

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Directed by: Shaka King

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons

Four stars

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Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.