Abu Dhabi: An Indian accused of peddling drugs has been set free by the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance.
K. M. Shiju aka Shiju Thomas, 29, was arrested at Abu Dhabi International Airport on June 18 on arrival from Cochin. He was carrying nine small stamps of psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide or (LSD).
The fabrication worker was returning after attending his father’s funeral in Kerala. His family said Shiju was tricked into carrying drugs by an acquaintance. Three drug smugglers related to the case were later arrested in India following a complaint by Shiju’s family.
They have been booked under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in India.
Legal and diplomatic sources in Abu Dhabi said it were these arrests that led to Shiju’s release.
Sale, possession or trafficking of drugs is a capital offence in the UAE.
“Diplomatic efforts were on in full swing as Shiju’s family had directly approached Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy who had taken up the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said an embassy source.
Shiju who was released from prison on Tuesday, June 24, temporarily living at the India Social and Cultural Centre (ISC) in Abu Dhabi.
SECOND BIRTH
“My son is innocent and I was sure he will return home soon,” an emotional Jancy Manuel, 59, told XPRESS.
“We have no words to thank the media and all those who helped us in our difficult times. It is a second birth for my son,” added the widow who recently lost her husband in a boat accident in Kerala.
She had appealed to the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi to expedite the release of her son.
“An acquaintance named Amal handed over a parcel to Shiju at the Nedumbassery airport, requesting him to deliver it to a person in Abu Dhabi. He was told that the packet contained two books for MBA and two shirts and my brother found nothing suspicious about it,” Shiju’s brother Joshy had told XPRESS.
According to Joshy, Amal was part of a drug syndicate operating out of Kerala. “He tricked my brother into peddling drugs to the UAE,” said Joshy.
Shiju was not available for comment. “He is traumatised by the experience. Staying in our premises will help him escape unwanted public glare and attention,” said a source at ISC.
Legal sources said the public prosecutor can appeal against the verdict. Shiju is expected to fly back home once his passport is released by the court.
You Speak
What do you do when someone asks you to carry a parcel for them to another country?
Write to us at:
editor@xpress4me.com
www.xpress4me.com
sms 5101
