Smuggling of 30,000 alcohol bottles foiled

Abu Dhabi Customs recently foiled an attempt to bring in 8,000 prescription stimulant drugs into the UAE and to smuggle out 30,000 bottles of alcohol out of the UAE through through Al Ghuwaifat border post.

During a routine inspection of buses entering UAE through Al Ghuwaifat border post, an Arab passenger was found in possession of a large quantity of pills hidden in his belongings. The seized pills, amounting to 8,000 in number, were classified as stimulant drugs which can only be prescribed by a doctor.

In another incident, the Ghuwaifat border post police informed Al Ghuwaifat customs inspectors about a likely attempt to smuggle alcohol bottles out of the UAE.

Customs inspectors became suspicious of a truck with a UAE licence plate which was leaving the country. During inspection, customs officials used scanning devices to identify the items in the boxes, which did not match the description of the type of goods in boxes labelled ‘apples’. After unloading the cargo, 2,559 cardboard containers with 12 bottles of alcohol in each box were identified, bringing the total number of alcohol bottles to 30,708.

Customs inspectors arrested both suspects and the cases were transferred to the concerned authorities to take legal action.

Commenting on the two incidents, Mohamed Khadem Al Hameli, Acting Director General of the General Administration of Customs – Abu Dhabi, highlighted the strong level of cooperation between all security services in supporting the customs inspectors’ role.

Al Ghuwaifat border post is considered the largest land port in the UAE. Over 2.5 million vehicles entered and exited the country through the border in 2014.

 

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