Up to three individuals who purportedly practice sorcery are denied entry to the United Arab Emirates by customs officials at Dubai International Airport every week.
An African national arrived in mid-May, and a scan of his bags revealed braided human hair, dead scorpions, candles and assorted items, leading officers to believe he practiced witchcraft, according to Emirates 24/7. Then, a body scan revealed the individual was wearing 20 belts made of animal skin and bone.
According to Hassan Ibrahim, a senior inspections officer, the belts were meant for practicing black magic. They didn’t have the typical buckle. Some belts were locked together, “so they were intended to be worn all the time,” said Hassan.
In separate incident, a Dubai visitor told an official: “I was created in the UAE 3,800 years ago.”
Initially, officers suspected the individual was playing a prank. “In these kinds of situations, some of these guys do pretend, but some of them are real sorcerers, and this guy was dealing with a very high level of black magic – as per the evidence of his belongings,” Hassan told Emirates 24/7.
As the world’s busiest airport, seeing 70.4 million passengers in 2014, cases of individuals purportedly practicing sorcery occur with some frequency.
“We face two or three cases a week,” said Hassan, as reported by Emirates 24/7. “Regarding black magic and witchcraft, most of the time, it’s the passenger’s profession, and in some cultures its normal to carry such items with them.”
Authorities will confiscate the items linked to sorcery, deport the individual and ban them from entering the country. “These practices are completely illegal in our country, against our regulations, and these sorcerers are dangerous to our society and a threat to the safety of the UAE,” Hassan told Emirates 24/7.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection representative says the agency processes 1 million passengers on an average day and is dedicated to ensuring the safety of American citizens, permanent residents and travelers in a email to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“CBP is committed to treating all travelers with respect and dignity at all U.S. ports of entry,” said the email.
The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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