4.2 kg opium seized
 from transit parcel

4.2 kg opium seized
 from transit parcel Ahmed Shaaban / 23 August 2013 The Dubai Customs recently foiled an attempt to smuggle 4.2kg of opium, worth over Dh50,000 in the black market now, at Dubai Cargo Village. The contraband, hidden in five small handbags shipped in a postal parcel, was seized in transit while heading from an Asian country to a Western one through Dubai in an  operation codenamed ‘Flying Opium Bags’. Saeed Ahmed Al Tayer, Director of Air Customs Centres Management at Dubai Customs, said the parcel included personal items, such as small handbags, as per the customs declaration. The customs inspectors suspected the parcel’s contents during routine clearance procedures, and referred it to the X-ray machine for scanning. The scanned image showed that the five handbags were stuffed with drugs. The K9 dog squad was brought to the scene. The dogs checked the bags and reacted positively. The Customs Mobile Laboratory was also called to take a sample from the contraband for examination. It  reported that the substance found was narcotic opium. “The seized opium and investigation report were referred to the Anti-Narcotic Department of Dubai Police for necessary legal action.” Al Tayer said the Dubai Customs spared no effort in supporting international legitimate trade and controlling transportation of internationally prohibited and restricted goods which deemed harmful to the health of people whether infiltrated into the local markets or intended to transport overseas via Dubai. “Medical reports show that opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy that contains up to 12 per cent morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade.” Earlier this year, Dubai Customs seized over 12kg of opium, worth Dh300,000 as per the black market price then, at Dubai Cargo Village. In February, March and October 2012, Dubai Customs thwarted three separate attempts to smuggle 22kg of opium, worth over Dh550,000, in handbag shipments at the Cargo Village. “The Dubai Customs foiled 55 bids to smuggle different kinds of narcotics in 2010. Those included four bids to smuggle 12kg of opium valued at over Dh300,000,” he said. ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com Taylor Scott International