ABU DHABI 5 October 2018: The Federal Customs Authority (FCA) yesterday began its first customs inspection operation using federal customs dogs at the Ras Al Darah Port, which is managed by the Ras Al Khaimah Customs Department.
The plan is to begin deploying specially-trained dogs in K9 units at the country’s customs ports.
The first federal customs dogs unit, which includes four trainers and four dogs that participated in the operation were trained to detect drugs and explosives. A second unit will begin working before the end of the current year, said Wam.
Ali bin Subaih Al Kaabi, Customs Commissioner and Chairman of the FCA, said, “We aim to fully control our customs ports and create a deterrence, as part of the FCA’s tasks and responsibilities and its awareness of the scale of its security challenges and customs risks. The FCA is implementing an overall plan to support the country’s customs ports, including by utilising the latest equipment and gear and deploying specialist handlers and customs dogs, which will improve the country’s security, customs and commercial systems.”
He also pointed out that the FCA, with support from the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, has managed to deploy the first federal K9 unit in record time.
He then thanked Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, for helping to establish the unit and allocating its new building in Umm Al Qaiwain.
Al Kaabi noted that the ministry, as per Sheikh Mansour’s directives, has offered the necessary financial support to establish and operate the unit, due to its belief in the unit’s importance and its role in maintaining security, controlling customs ports and combating smuggling.
The K9 unit will conduct its customs operations around the country over the coming weeks, in coordination with local customs departments, as a pilot phase to evaluate the performance of its dogs, after they successfully completed their training on how to detect drugs and explosives. The results will be evaluated and the necessary correctional plans will be prepared to overcome any difficulties and challenges.