Qatar Customs arrests man for smuggling marijuana in box of pastry

  • Shabina S. Khatri
    •

    All photos courtesy of Qatar Customs Authority

    A passenger at Hamad International Airport has been caught after attempting to smuggle 332g of marijuana into the country by hiding it in a box of sweets, officials said.

    The marijuana appears to have been placed underneath a pastry filled with nuts and sugar.

    Nearly 7g of opium was also found in the man’s wallet, the Customs Authority said.

    The “sweet” bust follows several other creative but unsuccessful attempts to bring drugs into or through Qatar.

    Last month, a passenger was found to be hiding 11kg of marijuana in a bag of dried chili peppers.

    And weeks before that, customs authorities arrested a man for concealing 6.4kg of marijuana in dried fish and assorted nuts.

    Drug smuggling has become an increasing problem for airport authorities in Qatar.

    However, a security official said this week that most narcotics seizures continue to occur via the sea.

    This is done with the help of weapons and high-speed boats, the Peninsula reported Staff Major-General Saad bin Jassim Al Khulaifi, Director-General of Public Security and President of the Permanent Committee for Drugs and Alcohol Affairs as saying.

    Thoughts?