DC director tours Control Room

DUBAI: The Director of Dubai Customs, Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, made an evening tour of the Customs Declaration Management and the Control Room of the Customs Intelligence Department. He confirmed that Part of Dubai Customs’ role is to maintain security and safety through securing the emirate’s borders and entry points and protecting society from the hazards of illegitimate trade. “Serve People” is one of the ten commandments of governance set by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

He applauded professionalism and commitment he touched at the control room.

“With around-the-clock professional and highly competent control and monitor, the control room serves a great purpose of maintaining security and responding quickly to any reports and complaints,” he said.   

There are 23 customs security programs in place that work harmoniously to cover all customs operations. The room received more than 24,000 telephone calls last year, out of these 1,000 Rafed calls. Rafed is a service Dubai Customs launched in 2015 to enable employees and the general public report any customs and trade violations or breaching.

The control room is the first of its kind in the region and was established in 2007 to enhance control over customs entry points and border exits. Now it manages 514 surveillance cameras in 25 border points in Dubai. The cameras spotted 61 incidents that needed attention and action in 2018, and the room received 1071 support requests from customs centers.

In the tour, Director of Dubai Customs was accompanied by Abdullah Mohammed Al Khaja, Executive Director of Clients Management Division and Shuaib Al Suwaidi, Director of Customs Intelligence Department.

They highly applauded the hard work and commitment they touched from the employees who deal with all the data received through the risk engine and customs declarations through Mirsal system. Around 98% of customs declarations are completed and finalised in less than 2 hours.

The growing number of customs declarations carried out by Dubai Customs is an indication of its progressive approach and advanced employee performance, which maintains Dubai Customs as a leading customs department worldwide and Dubai as a leading global destination for tourism and trade.