16kg of heroin seized at Dubai airport in four separate incidents

The illegal drugs were hidden in packages containing writing pens, books, clothing, ladies bags and other items, state news agency WAM said.

DUBAI // Customs officials have seized almost 17 kilograms of heroin in four separate searches at Dubai airport's cargo area.
The drugs were hidden in packages containing pens, books, clothing and ladies bags, state news agency Wam reported today.
"The seizures were made in respect to four shipments in transit over different periods of time this year, coming from an Asian country and heading to western and Asian countries via Dubai," said Ahmed Mahboob, executive director of client management at Dubai Customs.
"Dubai Customs inspectors, however, were able to detect the heroin, preventing its entry and promotion at the countries of final destination."
The first batch was found among books that were searched because the package was a suspicious weight and because the texts were already readily available in the destination country.
After a search by Customs' dog unit, the package was scanned and found to contain 1.7kg of heroin.
The second seizure, weighing 2.7kg, was stuffed inside the packaging of a mirror destined for a western country. The third recovery, 7kg, was found hidden in ladies' clothing accessories.
The fourth batch was 5.5kg hidden a parcel of textile samples sent from an Asian country to another Asian country.

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