Onion consignment had red sandalwood in it

A consignment of onions coming from India proved to contain 600 trunks of the endangered red sandalwood tree, import of which is banned in the UAE, the Dubai Criminal Court heard.

ABS, 45, driver, is accused of importing 16,405kg of red sandalwood without permission from the concerned authority.

He is also accused of forging shipping documents and falsifying the ‘country of origin’ certificate by stating that the consignment contained onions instead of red sandalwood.

He handed over the false documents to a cargo clearance company which in turn submitted them to Dubai Customs.

Customs officials had received a tip off from a source about the consignment containing banned red sandalwood.

“The consignment was scanned by ray and officers found that there was abnormal thickness in its centre though it  probably contained onion bags on top and the sides.

The consignment was opened in front of the clearance company as the owner failed to respond to telephone calls.

The court will reconvene on June 5.