DUBAI: The myriad ways in which drug smugglers go about their business was the focus of a small exhibition held by Dubai Customs at Dubai Courts on Sunday.
Dozens of people stopped to take a look at a small teddy bear and a pair of women’s shoes, both of which were stuffed with heroin.
However, most passers-by were more astonished when they were shown how almonds were delicately opened, stuffed with illegal drugs and then put together again to seem like an unopened nut.
Elsewhere, a deep hole had been bore into a big notebook as a place to store cocaine and another exhibit showed how a man was jailed for hiding drugs in a Quran.
Other methods of concealment used when people have been arrested for drug smuggling in Dubai include hiding drugs in mobile phones and chargers, while too many people have been caught while swallowing drugs wrapped in plastic.
“These are poor people and many of them don’t even know how dangerous the substance they are carrying is,” said the manager of CCTV at Dubai Customs, Salim Ali Al Katbi.
While the methods of transportation vary, one thing that doesn’t change is Dubai Customs officers’ alertness, he said. “Our female inspectors are doing a brilliant job reading the body language, which leads to several arrests,” said Mr Al Katbi.
“Sometimes smugglers go back to old ways – they try everything – but we also never give up, because our main goal is to protect people.”
