Dubai Customs intercepts 52 fake passports

Dubai Customs inspectors at Cargo Village Customs Center last year seized 52 fake passports which were intended to be smuggled into the U.A.E. Hamid Rasheed, Director of Air Customs Centres Management at Dubai Customs, said "Parcels that contained personal and commercial items, as stated in their declarations, went through regular clearance procedures. Customs inspectors became suspicious of their content after they had undergone the document analysis test. X-ray images indicated the presence of internationally significant official documents." He stressed the continued efforts of Dubai Customs to detect such crimes that jeopardize national security, in line with DC's strategic vision with respect to protecting community members locally and worldwide. In this regard, Rasheed lauded the inspectors' high attention to implementing the most advanced security measures at all ports in order to preserve the reputation of Dubai and the UAE. Dubai Customs is keen to educate its staff and raise their awareness about the counterfeiting of official documents. The inspectors are continuously trained to be able to detect false papers of all kinds. This training enables them to differentiate fraudulent from original documents and identify the tricks used by offenders. Dubai Customs inspectors assist security authorities in other countries to uncover forgery operations, by providing them with seizure facts of fake documents that were issued in these countries. Hamid Rasheed further noted, " Dubai Cargo Village Customs Center receives a large volume of shipments of commercial and personal nature on daily basis. This calls for complete alertness on the part of inspectors to intercept prohibited materials, narcotics and counterfeits."