Dubai Customs thwarted a bizarre attempt to smuggle narcotics into the Emirate by stuffing them into pineapples.
Customs officers were suspicious of a passenger travelling from an African country carrying a cardboard box filled with pineapples.
They tracked the box and searched the confused-looking passenger at the inspection area to find marijuana hidden inside the pineapples.
The box upon being scanned revealed black plastic bags inside the pineapples that contained a total of 399 rolls of marijuana, weighing 417.30 grams.
The passenger has been arrested at Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 1 for smuggling and was handed over to the General Department of Anti-Narcotics in Dubai Police.
Khalid Ahmed, acting director of the Passenger Operations Department at Dubai Customs, said smugglers attempt to smuggle small amounts of drugs at first and then try to send bigger quantities if their attempt succeeds.
“Dubai Customs is very alert [of] these miserable attempts and works hard to protect society by preventing the entry of narcotic substances. Smugglers try to circumvent customs inspectors through body stuffing, or hiding their contraband inside cosmetics and personal care boxes, or in the linings of their bags.
Ahmed credited inspectors and the advanced scanning systems in place, including the Smart Bag Inspection system at Dubai Airports to efficiently curb any illegitimate smuggling attempt.