A record haul of 171.2 kg of cocaine, worth some AED 200 million (54.5 million USD), was seized by Dubai Customs at the Jebel Ali Port on 25 September 2014. The cocaine was concealed in a banana shipment coming from South America.

Thanks to the vigilance of the Customs inspectors and the use of sophisticated technology as well as advanced information and risk analysis systems, the contraband was stopped even though organic substances were used by the smugglers as cover load to avoid detection by X-ray scanners and sniffer dogs.

"The drugs, the largest seized in the UAE in the last five years, were extracted from a shipment of 3,080 cartoons of bananas at the Jebel Ali Port," said Ahmed Al Khuroosi, Head of Customs Intelligence Department at Dubai Customs. "The K9 Squad was brought into the scene to check the items confiscated and positively reacted."

"The Customs Mobile Laboratory was also called in to take a sample examination and reported that the substance found was cocaine," added Mr. Al Khuroosi.

The fight against illicit drugs is part of the Dubai Customs strategy to support the health and safety of society.