Pair on trial for smuggling 294,398 narcotics tablets

Two men, allegedly involved in the smuggling of 294,398 amphetamine tablets in a fabrics shipment, were charged with the possession of drugs for peddling.

The case of the Saudi visitor, identified as BH, 30, and the Emirati employee, identified as NM, 22, was heard by the Court of First Instance as they are accused of having possessed the drugs which were smuggled in a fabric shipment through the Jebel Ali Port.

A high-ranking officer in the Anti-Narcotics Department of the Dubai Police said they were informed that the customs had seized a big shipment of narcotics at the port in July.

They caught the man who imported the shipment and released him on bail. He claimed that he received the shipment from a man in Syria and did not know the drugs were hidden in the fabric. He said that he was to collect a commission for distributing the shipment of fabric.

He pledged to cooperate with the police and help them catch the men who would pick up the drugs, and he was instructed to communicate with the Syrian to arrest the men who would pick up the drugs.

BH was arrested and he was handed over a suitcase with a part of the narcotics. He was instructed by the narcotics officers to call NM and meet him at a local hotel. As the two met at the hotel lobby, and when NM picked up the suitcase, the Anti-Narcotics officers arrested him. He claimed that he was to deliver part of the drugs to someone here and send the remaining to Saudi Arabia.

According to the Criminal Lab report, the seized shipment contained 294,398 tablets of amphetamine, a type of narcotics listed in the Federal Anti-Narcotics and Drugs Law.

mary@khaleejtimes.com