7 year-jail for man caught with 18.2kg drug-soaked clothes at Dubai airport

The man looked agitated when his handbag was scanned.

A man, who was caught at the airport with 18.2kg of crystal meth-soaked pieces of clothes, was sentenced to seven years in jail by the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.
The court ordered the defendant to be deported after serving his prison term and paying a Dh50,000 fine.
It ordered the confiscation of the drugs found in his possession.
The accused earlier denied in court a charge of drug smuggling for peddling.
Public prosecution records show that the 39-year-old Nigerian man arrived at the Dubai International Airport on April 6.
A customs inspector, who was on a night shift, was assigned by a colleague to search the defendant's baggage. "He raised our suspicions as he looked agitated when his handbag was scanned. He denied he was carrying any contraband substance."
However, when the inspector searched the other checked-in bag which the accused collected, he found that he had just thrown its tag.
"I found very rigid clothes in it. There were traces of white powder on it. I had a doubt that the clothes were soaked with drugs. The accused denied having anything to do with the clothes. He claimed a person in Nigeria gave him the clothes to deliver them in Dubai," the inspector told the prosecutor. 
According to the Crime Lab report, the 32 pieces of clothes seized from the defendant were soaked with crystal meth and weighed 18.2kg.  
The defendant remains in detention. He has the right to appeal the ruling within 15 days from the issuance date.
- mary@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai