Dubai: A passenger was caught with 6.28kg of cocaine hidden in a leg cast when he tried to run away after a suspicious airport policeman stopped him at Dubai airport.
A policeman was said to have asked the 49-year-old Swedish passenger, A.M., to bring the medical reports from his bag at the luggage belt after the latter claimed that his legs were in a cast because they were fractured.
The policeman searched A.M., who had just arrived at Dubai International Airport’s terminal three, when he suspected the passenger who seemed scared and confused as he was sweating a lot.
After alleging that his legs were broken and in a cast, according to records, the policemen kept an eye on the Swedish man and ran quickly behind him and detained him when A.M. tried to run away. A search revealed 6.28kg of cocaine in pouches hidden in the cast.
Drugs prosecutors accused the defendant of smuggling and possessing cocaine for promotional purposes.
When the defendant showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance he admitted that he smuggled and possessed the cocaine but not for promotion.
A.M. confessed before the presiding judge that he smuggled the cocaine against a tiny quantity from the seized drugs which he admitted he wanted to use for his personal consumption.
The Swedish refuted the intention to promote the cocaine in Dubai.
The policeman claimed to prosecutors that he suspected the voyager from the minute he saw him sweating heavily and looking frightened and confused.
“Shortly after he passed through the metal detecting device, I asked him to step aside to have him searched. When I hand-searched his legs, they felt bulgy. When I asked him, he told me that his two legs were broken and in a cast. He claimed that he had the proper medical reports in his bags and said that he would get them from the luggage. While he was heading to the luggage conveyor belt, he started running suddenly. I ran behind him quickly and stopped him. We accompanied him to a private search room … there it was discovered that he had hidden the cocaine in five plastic pouches and wrapped them in the cast. There were four pieces of cast around his legs except for around the knee area to allow him to walk freely. Surprisingly, the suspect took out $100 and told me to ‘take it’. We took him to the airport’s clinic where his medical check up confirmed that his legs were not broken,” testified the policeman.
An anti-narcotics police lieutenant testified to prosecutors that A.M. confessed that he had agreed to smuggle the drugs for €2,000 (Dh8,050) for another Swedish man named Dragan.
A ruling will be heard soon.
