More than two million banned products seized by Dubai Customs last year

The 160 tonnes of illegal goods were confiscated at Jebel Ali Customs Centres and included 506,000 Tramadol pills valued at Dh5 million.

DUBAI // More than two million banned products worth Dh45 million were seized by Dubai Customs last year.

The 160 tonnes of illegal goods were confiscated at Jebel Ali Customs Centres and included 506,000 tramadol pills worth Dh5m and 130,000 items of endangered red sandalwood, which is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, worth Dh5.2m.

Dubai Customs also seized more than 31,000 stolen items and goods not matching their description in the manifest. This haul was valued at Dh2.7m.

The seizures were made between January and September and reflect the efficiency of Jebel Ali Customs Centres inspectors in detecting all goods infringing laws and regulations and preventing their entry into the country, officials said.

“Our evident success in foiling all forms of smuggling bids is the result of relentless efforts to train inspectors on using the latest techniques in spotting unlawful goods,” said Abdullah Mohammed Al Khaja, director of Jebel Ali Customs Centres.

“Training courses and workshops are regularly carried out to optimise performance efficiency, supported by the high-tech ‘risk engine’, a system developed internally by Dubai Customs to screen and detect risky shipments.”