HABIB TOUMI/GULF NEWS
Qatari authorities have announced a 90 percent success rate at disrupting narcotics smuggling — much of it originating in South America — through Doha airport.
“We have found out that 85 percent of the cocaine from [Brazil] was merely transiting through Doha and that it was destined for consumption in African and Asian countries,” Ahmad Al Khayarain, an official at the airport, told local daily Al Arab.
“There is a lot of cooperation to help tackle the issue. For instance, we work closely with the employees of Qatar Airways. Those who transport drugs in their stomachs refuse to eat or drink, and they of course become suspicious when the flight is long and they do not eat or drink anything.”
Airport officials reported 1,580 cases of attempted drug smuggling in 2012. Some of the cases involved pills.
Customs Inspector Saif Al Kuwari said that most of the drug smuggling “mules” came from Nigeria and Tanzania. “They really put their lives at risk by carrying between 40 and 110 pills in their stomachs. They usually receive $5,000 (18,200 Qatari riyals) for their dirty work,” he said.
Qataris have also reported successes in combating the related crime of currency smuggling. “Anyone who has more than 70,000 riyals has to declare them. There is no problem about how much passengers can carry as long as they declare them,” Al Kuwari said. “We had instances of passengers having up to $5 million in their suitcases. Many Libyan merchants carry cash with them as they transit through Doha on their way to China for their shopping. When people declare the amounts they have with them, they contribute to the anti-money laundering fight,” he said.