‘Customs agents abort attempt to smuggle 500 mobiles’

AMMAN — Jordan Customs Department (JCD) agents on Sunday seized 500 mobile phones that were being smuggled from Saudi Arabia to Jordan, an official source said.

The smuggled shipments were reportedly on board an empty bus that was crossing the Kingdom at the Omari border crossing, a senior JCD official said.

“One of our agents became suspicious because the bus was empty and when he went to check it, he found the toilet door locked which made him even more suspicious,” the JCD official told The Jordan Times.

Following a thorough search of the bus, the official added, agents found the devices hidden in the air conditioning units of the bus and inside the toilet.

“This was really one of the unusual ways to smuggle goods but we are content that we were able to abort this operation,” the official added.

The fine for the seized shipments and the bus that allegedly was carrying the smuggled shipment was estimated at JD99,000 according to a statement by the JCD. 

The official said the goods and the bus will be released to their owners “once they pay the required fines imposed against them by the Customs Department prosecutor and after they are cleared by the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organisation”.

“These goods could be hazardous to the environment if they do not meet our specification and at the same time we have to make sure they are not imitations as part of our commitment to intellectual properties laws,” the JCD official stressed.