Dubai: A farmer has been jailed for four years for smuggling and possessing poppy seeds although he claimed he brought them to use in cooking cook.
Customs inspectors at Dubai International Airport seized the poppy seeds placed in the luggage of the 33-year-old Indian farmer, B.S., when he arrived in Dubai in April.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of smuggling and possessing drugs for consumption purposes despite his argument that he had brought them for cooking.
Drugs prosecutors charged B.S. with smuggling and possessing 102.5g of poppy seeds for his personal consumption.
When he showed up in court, the accused admitted that he brought in the substances with him but denied that it was a drug.
“I brought those seeds with me from India, but I did not know that it was banned. Where I come from, we use this for cooking,” argued B.S. when he defended himself in the courtroom.
According to the primary ruling, the defendant will be deported following the completion of his jail term.
B.S. contended: “We use this like a spice in the sauce and we use it to cook soup. I possessed it for cooking purposes.”
Prosecution records said the defendant smuggled and possessed a plastic nylon sack that contained 102.5g of poppy seeds that could be planted. The suspect possessed the seeds for consumption purposes.
A female customs inspector at the airport stopped the defendant once he reached her counter at the arrival terminal, she told prosecutors.
“Once he arrived at Terminal 2, I suspected that he could have been carrying drugs. I took him aside and searched his luggage that contained the poppy seeds. When I confronted him with the findings, he immediately confessed that he had brought them with him from abroad. The poppy seeds were seized and the suspect was referred to Dubai Police’s anti-narcotics department,” claimed the inspector.
The accused has already appealed his primary judgement and is scheduled to appear before the Appeal Court soon.
