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Man held over drug possession

A 27-year-old Asian identified as M.A.G., who arrived in the UAE on a visit visa with 152 kilograms of hashish, has been arrested by the Dubai Police with the help of an undercover agent who showed interest in smuggling the drugs. The accused was looking for a mule to carry the contraband to a GCC country.

The suspect went on trial at the Dubai criminal court after being referred by the public prosecution on Wednesday. He denied possession of the drugs, claiming that it belonged to someone else from his home country.

The court ordered delegating a lawyer to defend the suspect, who had informed the court that he could not hire a lawyer to defend him due to his financial situation. The hearing has been adjourned to January 27. According to court records, the police officer at the anti-narcotics department testified at the court that the department had been tipped off about a person in the emirate being in possession of a large quantity of hashish, and was seeking a mule to carry the drugs to a GCC country.

“The police established contact with a person in the GCC state, who showed interest in purchasing the drugs,” the officer told the court, adding that the same person contacted the undercover agent who in turn contacted the suspect and told him about the buyer in the GCC country.

The suspect called the GCC client several times and agreed on the amount of money and the quantity of drugs. The next day, the suspect called the police undercover agent and told him that he had struck a deal with the buyer in the GCC country. The undercover agent was supposed to hand over the cash in exchange of the drugs, the police officer said.

The suspect and the police undercover agent agreed to meet in front of a hotel in the Naif area and the police laid a trap near the venue.

The suspect arrived at the fixed time carrying two bags. The undercover agent signalled the policemen who raided the place and caught the suspect.

On interrogation, the suspect said that he had arrived in the UAE looking for a job. One of his friends from his country called him and asked him to go to a shopping mall to meet a person who would hand over the key of his apartment. When he went inside the flat he found the drugs there. The police also recovered 100kg of hashish stashed in the said flat. The contraband was seized and confiscated.

salah@khaleejtimes.com