Dubai: A worker has been jailed for six months for possessing nearly one kilogram of methamphetamine for promotional purposes after drug enforcement officers seized them from his car.
Acting upon an informant’s tip off, drug enforcement officers arrested the 21-year-old Pakistani worker in a sting operation, during which he was found to have been hiding the drugs in his car in May.
The Dubai Court of First Instance found the defendant guilty. On top of his sentence, the defendant was ordered to pay a fine of Dh50,000.
He will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
The accused pleaded not guilty and denied the charge of promoting the drugs.
“I did not possess them for promotion,” he told the presiding judge.
A lieutenant with the anti-narcotics police unit testified that an informant had brought it to their attention that the defendant possessed and consumed drugs at his residence in Ras Al Khor area.
“According to the tip off, the accused has also possessed some methamphetamine for promotional purposes. We obtained prosecutors’ permission to search and arrest the defendant... we raided Ras Al Khor area first but the defendant could not be found. The informant informed us again that the suspect had moved to Al Wuheida area... we raided the second place and apprehended the suspect who was in his car.
“We searched his vehicle and found a plastic box that contained methamphetamine, hidden in the back pocket of the seat. The accused was [immediately] taken into... custody and then we searched his residence but we didn’t find any banned substances there. During questioning, the defendant alleged that his countryman provided him with the methamphetamine and asked him to deliver them to another person for Dh1,000. He claimed that he had done the same job three times before his arrest,” the lieutenant said.
The ruling remains subject to appeal
