A joint operation between Australian authorities and Dubai Customs has led to the seizure of two tonnes of methamphetamines worth Dh4.04 billion.
The haul was found inside marble slabs shipped from a neighbouring country in a Sydney port and is Australia's largest drugs bust since 2019.
Director general of Dubai Customs Ahmed Mahboob Musabih said the organisation's tracking and analysis of the shipments — the findings of which were immediately passed to Australian authorities — was fundamental to the success of the operation.
The chairman of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayemon, said that the success of the operation was a result of the support and directives of the top leadership to work on developing solid relations between the UAE and various countries in the field of combating organised crime.
He said Dubai Customs was committed to supporting security authorities in the prevention of drugs smuggling around the world.
Mr bin Sulayemon also said intelligence work was under way to find information related to other smuggling operations and that the organisation was working at both a local and global level “to present an international unique model that distinguishes Dubai on the world map”.
Other operations throughout the year have resulted in the seizure of methamphetamines in air shipments that were scheduled to pass through to Dubai.
The shipments are believed to have been used by cross-border criminal gangs for smuggling operations between South America and Australia.
Mohammed Al Suwaidi, director of the Intelligence Department at Dubai Customs, said that Australian authorities arrested members of a gang in August of this year after finding 748 kilograms of methamphetamines hidden in 24 containers that arrived at a berth at Port Botany, while another 1,060kg of methamphetamines were found in 19 containers that arrived at the same port.
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
