Thursday 12 / June / 2025
Muscat: With every citizen now a potential importer or exporter, online trading has become a new area of challenge for the Customs department, Colonel Khalifa Al-Siyabi, Director-General of Oman Customs, told Times of Oman in an exclusive interview.
“Online trading is a growing challenge, as it competes with the traditional and local trade. It is not limited to the traditional trading houses anymore, and makes every citizen a potential importer or exporter,” Col. Al-Siyabi said.
“Most people do not realise it, but Customs is among the few Government agencies that not only has a role to play in the country, but also has to keep an eye on the world. The number of customs officers is never enough, and we face the daily challenge of effectively servicing all the land, sea and air border posts. Trade is growing, and we must keep up with the change in behaviours among traders,” the Colonel pointed out.
"We also employ police dogs to check the goods coming in and leaving Oman," he said. Yet for operational reasons, Al-Siyabi said he was unable to provide details of where and how many dogs were located across the Sultanate.
“Our officers can make use of police dogs for assistance in searching people, goods and vehicles at border locations. Dogs have proven to be an effective tool in the constant battle against the import of illegal substances,” he remarked.
According to Col. Al-Siyabi, the busiest border posts are the land borders with the UAE, Sohar Sea Port and Muscat airport.
Port Sultan Qaboos can be quite busy during the peak cruise ship period. In terms of the volume of activity, Al-Siyabi said the busiest time for cargo movement were the weeks before the Eid holidays, while for traveller movement, it was the weekends before and after the Eid holidays.
“So, when everybody else is relaxing, our officers are working hard to ensure that people can enjoy their breaks,” Al-Siyabi added.
The most commonly seized goods are illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco. There is also the occasional seizures of weaponsAnchor. However, tobacco tops the list of smuggled goods because of the high taxes on cigarettes, Al-Siyabi noted.
The Director-General mentioned two important arrests that had stood out. One was a joint operation that apprehended a tobacco smuggling ring operating in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
“Coordinated goods seizures and arrests were made in multiple GCC countries at the same time. I cannot say much about this matter, as the case is not being heard by a court yet. It is enough to say that one operation led to the seizure of millions of cigarettes.
“The other was also quite recent and involved the seizure of a large quantity of illicit narcotics, which had been professionally concealed. It is a tribute to our risk management processes and the work of our search officers that a significant quantity of those drugs was intercepted and kept off the streets,” he added.
