His Highness was received by Major General Suhail Saeed Al Khaili, Director-General of the Authority; Ahmed Abdullah bin Lahej Al Falasi, Acting Director-General of Customs and Port Security; Mohammed Ahmed Al Kuwaiti, Acting Director-General of Ports; along with a number of directors-general of local customs departments and officials from the Authority.

During the visit, His Highness Sheikh Zayed was briefed on the customs system in the UAE and the efforts of UAE Customs, represented by the Authority and local customs departments, to combat drug smuggling, enhance the readiness of customs inspection sectors at various ports of entry, and apply the latest inspection methods.

His Highness also attended a presentation on the role of K9 customs units in combating drug smuggling and the latest inspection equipment used at land, air and sea ports.

His Highness praised the efforts of the Authority and UAE Customs, as well as the achievements made in combating narcotics, the high level of vigilance demonstrated by customs inspectors and the competent authorities at the UAE’s border crossings, and the level of coordination and strategic partnership between the National Anti-Narcotics Authority, the Federal Authority and local customs departments.

His Highness also highlighted the role of this partnership in curbing drug-smuggling operations, safeguarding community security and supporting stability.

For his part, Major General Suhail Saeed Al Khaili, Director-General of the Authority, stressed the National Anti-Narcotics Authority's strategic role in protecting community security.

He noted the commitment of the Federal Authority and local customs departments to coordinating and cooperating with strategic partners, developing work plans, improving the efficiency of the UAE’s customs inspection system, enhancing the quality of customs services, adopting best practices, and raising security awareness among inspectors in line with the leadership’s directives and the aspirations of the UAE people to build a safe and stable society.

During the meeting, participants discussed the latest results and developments in combating drug smuggling across the UAE, ways to raise customs inspectors’ security awareness of emerging smuggling methods, and means of strengthening ongoing efforts and making optimal use of available resources and capabilities to enhance the UAE’s regional and global standing and competitiveness in combating narcotics and eliminating this scourge.