Dubai: A worker charged with drug possession will be jailed for four years and deported after a court on Sunday rejected the prosecution’s demand for the death penalty, citing lack of evidence.

Prosecutors sought the sternest punishment (capital punishment or life imprisonment) for the 35-year-old Iranian worker after charging him with possessing 0.8 grams of opium for promotional purposes.

The Dubai Court of First Instance, however, convicted him of drug possession and consumption. It ruled that there was no corroborative evidence that he tried to sell drugs.

The defendant admitted to consuming drugs.

“It’s true that I possessed the opium… but it was for personal use, not promotion,” he told presiding judge Mohammad Jamal.

Prosecutors had asked for the implementation of article 48 of the anti-narcotics law that stipulates that a suspect, who possesses drugs for promotional purposes, could get life imprisonment or a capital punishment.

The defendant’s lawyer told the court that the amount of opium was not enough to be used for promotional purposes. He asked the court to acquit his client considering that law enforcement procedures were improperly carried out.

A lieutenant in the anti-narcotics department admitted to making an error in noting down the time of the defendant’s arrest in the police report.

Raid

An policeman testified that an informant alerted them that the defendant was in possession of drugs and intended to sell them. The informant was the defendant’s neighbour and lived in the same building.

“A police team headed towards the defendant’s residence in Naif. I was present with the informant when he called the defendant and asked him to meet us in front of the building. When he arrived, the informant asked him if he had any drugs. The defendant agreed to provide him with a piece of opium for Dh500 and give him another piece later. Police raided his place and arrested the defendant. Opium was found in his pocket,” he said.

The defendant tested positive for drugs, according to records.

The ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.