(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Gold and gems top the list of contrabands after drugs that are frequently seized by airport customs in the country, says a senior customs official.
Seizures of gold and gems being brought here illegally have lately been on the rise, according to Head of Airport Customs, Khalid Hamad Al Kabi (pictured).
Drugs, however, remain the largest contraband to be seized. Narcotic tablets, hashish, marijuana and heroin mostly constitute the seized items.
"Smugglers come up with newer ideas to push dangerous drugs into the country but our inspectors are experienced and agile.
"They are equally smart and single out a shady operator from among a thousand people at the airport," Al Kabi told Al Sharq in an interview published yesterday.
Narcotic tablets are packed by smugglers in a coffee bottle, for instance. Then, there are people who pack marijuana in a way that it looks like packed food.
"But we have ultra-modern machines to detect such contraband, and we have highly trained inspectors," said Al Kabi.
Some people pack hashish in henna wraps to hoodwink customs officials. To bring huge amounts of cash in any currency without declaring it is also illegal.
Cargo items are almost free of smuggled goods. They occasionally have counterfeit goods so challenges there are a bit different.
Items being brought by courier services are subjected to rigorous checks because it is likely they can have illegal items.
At Hamad International Airport, due to increased traffic, the Customs Department has deployed some 70 percent more staff. "We have some 300 inspectors employed with us at passenger terminals, and 170 at the air cargo terminal," said Al Kabi.
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