DUBAI // Customs officials have seized 7.3kg of cocaine, the largest haul at Dubai International Airport so far this year. Authorities said the drugs were concealed in a bag carried by a woman travelling from Nigeria through Kenya. The seizure, announced yesterday, came a day after police released details of a 5.5kg haul of cocaine at the airport, found in the luggage of a man travelling from Brazil. In both cases, Dubai is believed to have been the final destination for the drugs. In the latest case, the suspect, believed to be in her 30s, was visiting Dubai for the first time and had papers describing her as a businesswoman, officials said.
A preliminary investigation by Dubai Customs indicated that the woman was given the cocaine in her home country of Nigeria and that it was meant to be delivered to a group in the Emirates. The woman is being held by police as investigators try to identify the intended recipients. She was searched after Customs inspectors became suspicious and the drugs were found in the base of the woman's luggage, sealed in pressurised bags.
"She placed the cocaine around the bag and concealed it very well," said Ali al Meghawi, Dubai Customs' director of operations at the airport. Between January and March this year, 105 seizures of drugs including cocaine, opium, hashish, cannabis, heroin, morphine and crystal methamphetamine have been made by Dubai Customs. Defendants from 32 different countries have been arrested. Mr al Meghawi said common methods for smuggling included concealing drugs in luggage, socks, shoes, cigarette packs, underwear, and by ingestion.
amustafa@thenational.ae
