28 tonnes: Dubai Customs foil largest naswar smuggling attempt
Customs official says shipment came from an Asian country.
Customs official says shipment came from an Asian country. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
DUBAI:
Dubai Customs in Jebel Ali foiled an attempt to smuggle in 28.3 tonnes of the tobacco derivative Naswar, making it one of the largest seizures of the substance in the emirates, reported Gulf News.
"Ahmad Mahboub Musabbah, the Executive Director of Customers Management at Dubai Customs, said the shipment came from an Asian country and was hidden in 375 bags to mislead customs officials," says Gulf News. UAE deems naswar a toxic substance and has banned its sale and production in the emirate.
Musabbah said the owner of the cargo was an Asian national who tried to deceive authorities by hiding his container behind other companies’ in Jebel Ali.
The owner then brought an empty container to transfer the banned substances secretly but inspectors foiled his attempt.
Naswar is considered by UAE authorities to be highly addictive due to the tobacco powder infused into it.
“The addiction is the same with any tobacco product,” Dr Sreekumar Sreedharan, specialist physician at Aster Clinic and a smoking cessation advocate, told Gulf News.
“People believe that because it doesn’t produce smoke and does not get into the lungs, it is safe to use. It isn’t,” he added.
Because naswar is placed in the mouth for long periods, the product directly affects the mouth and could increase the risks of oral, oesophageal, and peptic cancer, according to a 2011 study conducted by the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Peshawar in Pakistan.
The study revealed that about fifty per cent of the total oral cancer cases reported in Pakistan was attributable to naswar usage.
Dubai Customs in Jebel Ali foiled an attempt to smuggle in 28.3 tonnes of the tobacco derivative Naswar, making it one of the largest seizures of the substance in the emirates, reported Gulf News.
"Ahmad Mahboub Musabbah, the Executive Director of Customers Management at Dubai Customs, said the shipment came from an Asian country and was hidden in 375 bags to mislead customs officials," says Gulf News. UAE deems naswar a toxic substance and has banned its sale and production in the emirate.
Musabbah said the owner of the cargo was an Asian national who tried to deceive authorities by hiding his container behind other companies’ in Jebel Ali.
The owner then brought an empty container to transfer the banned substances secretly but inspectors foiled his attempt.
Naswar is considered by UAE authorities to be highly addictive due to the tobacco powder infused into it.
“The addiction is the same with any tobacco product,” Dr Sreekumar Sreedharan, specialist physician at Aster Clinic and a smoking cessation advocate, told Gulf News.
“People believe that because it doesn’t produce smoke and does not get into the lungs, it is safe to use. It isn’t,” he added.
Because naswar is placed in the mouth for long periods, the product directly affects the mouth and could increase the risks of oral, oesophageal, and peptic cancer, according to a 2011 study conducted by the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Peshawar in Pakistan.
The study revealed that about fifty per cent of the total oral cancer cases reported in Pakistan was attributable to naswar usage.