Source: Prime Ministry
Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, on Tuesday, in the temporary capital Aden, chaired a meeting of the High Committee for Combating Smuggling. The meeting reviewed and evaluated ongoing efforts to combat smuggling in all its forms, including tracking currency and money smugglers and criminal networks attempting to harm the national economy and impact the living conditions of citizens.
The meeting discussed the integration of efforts at military, security, judicial, and relevant government levels to curb smuggling, as well as the implementation level of cabinet decisions aimed at enhancing efforts to protect sea and land ports from smuggling activities.
An evaluation was also conducted on the measures taken to implement the Prime Minister’s decree regarding the combating of currency, money, and precious metals smuggling, emphasizing the responsibility of relevant authorities to strictly enforce the decision to contribute to national security and economic enhancement.
Several committee members presented reports on the outcomes of the previous meeting, including job rotation measures for all leaders and employees working at land and sea ports from various government entities, armed forces, and security sectors. The committee praised the ministries and entities that implemented the rotation and urged the remaining entities to expedite the job rotation process and corrective actions to optimize the functioning of land and sea ports.
Dr. Abdulhakim Al-Qobati, head of the Customs Authority, gave a presentation on the actions taken by the authority within its responsibilities to combat smuggling, highlighting the reactivation of the anti-smuggling sector, the establishment of dedicated departments within the authority, customs offices, and ports, in addition to training customs officers internally and externally. He noted that 124 significant customs seizures were made at customs ports, including 69 kilograms of gold, and mentioned ongoing coordination with security and military entities regarding these seizures and the judicial pursuit of smugglers, as well as the marking of cigarettes lacking banderoles.
The committee appreciated the role played by military, security institutions, and specialized agencies in reducing smuggling operations, especially of Iranian weapons to the Houthi terrorist militia, drugs, and other activities detrimental to national security, the economy, and public health, emphasizing the importance of intensifying efforts to mitigate the catastrophic risks of this scourge on the nation and society.
Prime Minister Bin Mubarak directed that all approved measures be transformed into executable work matrices to improve anti-smuggling procedures, with oversight and follow-up on the achievement levels and accountability for underperformers. He stressed the pivotal role of local authorities, the media, and civil society in supporting anti-smuggling efforts, given its impact on the nation’s economy and various security and health sectors.
