10 years jail for bid to smuggle hashish

Dubai - 29-year-old Iranian is believed to have carried 4.9kg of hashish

By Marie Nammour

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Published: Thu 12 May 2016, 6:55 PM

Last updated: Thu 12 May 2016, 9:00 PM

A man, on a visit visa, who was arrested at the Dubai International Airport allegedly trying to smuggle about 5kg of hashish, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The 29-year-old Iranian is believed to have carried 4.9kg of hashish when he arrived at the airport on February 26. He pleaded earlier not guilty in the Court of First Instance to the charge of attempted smuggling of drugs. The accused, who was ordered to pay a Dh50,000 fine, will be deported after completing his jail term.
A female customs inspector at Terminal 2 said they suspected the defendant's bag as it had a heavy bottom that did not look right when it passed through the scanning machine.
She stopped the defendant after he claimed his baggage and when he entered the arrival hall. "I asked him whether he had any banned substance but he denied.
The bottom of his bag was heavy and it appeared that a substance wrapped in a dark paper was hidden inside the bag".
That substance was suspected to be hashish. There was pepper powder on the paper to cover the smell, the officer said in her statement to the prosecution.
The traveler denied having anything to do with the seized quantity. He claimed he was given the bag to hand it over to someone here.
He alleged he had no idea what was inside it.
The quantity seized from the accused was hashish and it weighed 4.9kg, as per the Crime Lab report.
He may appeal the verdict within 15 days.
mary@khaleejtimes.com


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