Control centre

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Dr Abdulla Al Hashimi is responsible for overseeing the most secure valuable handling facility in the region.

Transguard's valuable handling facility in Dubai Airport Free Zone is the most technologically advanced security operation in the Middle East. Air Cargo Middle East & India takes an exclusive tour around the region's very own Fort Knox.

Last year, Transguard, a subsidiary of Emirates Security Group created the most secure handling facility in the Middle East. With an initial investment of approximately US$13.6 million, the purpose built building is fully equipped to deal with all possible threats to high value goods.

No stone has been left unturned in the group's quest to offer complete protection to the supply chain. Covered by a state of the art security and CCTV surveillance system, the fortress is guarded on a 24 hour basis and provides direct airside access to Dubai International Airport.

Transguard is the exclusive security provider for the ever expanding Emirates Group and its vast operation covers all forms of security across the airport and the adjoining Dubai Cargo Village. Yet it is the fort shaped building in Dubai Airport Free Zone that is the vital cog in the operation.

"We have all the necessary infrastructure and equipment to provide a ‘one stop shop' for the handling of valuable airfreight," says Dr Abdullah Al Hashimi, divisional senior vice president, group security, Emirates.

"With airside access and large storage facilities complemented with the presence of ground handling agents and regulatory agencies inside the building, such as customs and police, we are able to offer a complete service to valuable cargo shippers. The system in place covers the entire import and export process for valuable movement," he elaborates.

Opened to support Dubai's growing stature as a transport hub, the building has a number of high security vaults and a range of cash handling equipment. High value goods transited in the facility range from the traditional, such as gold, diamonds and bank notes, to the more unique, such as valuable paintings or antiques. In particular, attention is paid to the temperature within the handling areas for such sensitive items.

The controlled environment within the Valuable Strong Room offers an ideal storage facility for these delicate and irreplaceable goods," notes Al Hashimi.

The facility is found adjacent to Dubai airport's runways, which allows Transguard a quick and efficient route for transporting high value goods directly to its vaults. The security company's vans therefore regularly meet arriving aircrafts, collect the goods and return immediately through the high level security gates back into the facility.

Each van is implemented with a GPRS tracking device that allows the company to monitor its every position, be it in the airport or when collecting goods outside of the vicinity.

Goods are stored in the facility's various vaults depending on transit times, which range from hours to days to months. "We have a bigger vault which stores goods in transit for up to a month. We are then able to send customers goods onto their next destination when they need it using Emirates' network.

For example, if someone has a gold deposit they want sent to India, there are four flights a day to Bombay," says Al Hashimi.

Each shipment arriving and leaving the building is x-rayed and approved by the internal customs team. Aiming to create a ‘one stop shop' for valuable handling goods, the facility even has its own Kimberly certification process. Operated by Business Avenue, the procedure certifies rough diamonds imported and exported from Dubai.

However, perhaps the most impressive attribute of Transguard's operation is the staggering number of cameras implemented across its network. A notable presence inside and around the outside of the facility, the cash handling centre alone possesses 180 cameras.

The true value of such a vast camera network is only captalised upon through effective integration and testament to this fact is Transguard's control centre. The clinical focus point of the entire operation, the room is a visionary display of technological prowess, combining all levels of security techniques under one centralised system.

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