Air travellers warned of dangers of carrying prescription drugs into the UAE

Air travellers have been warned they could land in jail if they are found carrying prescription drugs without a medical certificate.

Officials at Dubai International Airport say they expect to welcome 90 million passengers by the close of the year - and are eager for passenger not to get grounded and risk being arrested.

Under UAE law, people caught with prescription drugs face prison terms of between six months and two years, and a possible fine of Dh10,000.

“Individuals travelling from this country carry prescription medicine from time to time," said Brig Mohammed Ahmed Al Mazrouei, assistant director general of Operations at Dubai Airport, who handles passengers travelling from the UAE. "They are required to show medical certificates."

Among prescribed medications that requires medical certificates is tramadol, a pain medication. “Tramadol is among the medications that requires medical certificates,” said Brig Al Mazrouei.

Anyone coming to the UAE carrying tramadol or other prescribed medications without a medical certificate will be questioned and their case will be transferred to Dubai Public Prosecution.

While millions of people passing through Dubai International Airport each and every month, many are still unaware of the laws governing their travel.

Around 39 million passengers used Dubai Airport in the past five months, Dubai Police said.

As well as awareness of medication requirements, airport staff and police often deal with unruly behaviour from drunken passengers.

“Police are well trained to deal with passengers who behave unpleasantly due to consuming alcohol," said Brig Al Mazrouei. "Strict procedures might be taken against those who lose control due to their alcohol consumption, such as conducting a blood test for them."

Meanwhile, Maj Gen Ahmed Mohammed bin Thani, assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Port Affairs, urged travellers to ensure their passports were valid and had at least six month remaining before expiry.

"This is a huge mistake and results in their trip being cancelled,” said Maj Gen bin Thani.

At the launch of an awareness campaign for travellers, Maj Gen bin Thani, along with officials from Dubai Police, Customs, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) and Emirates Airlines, urged people to abide by the rules.

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British woman accused of drug smuggling into Egypt jailed for three years
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Officials said passengers are taking less time to pass through the airport due to new technologies and smart gates. More than 120 smart gates have been installed at the airport.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others

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As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.

Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.

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