Dubai: A passenger has been jailed for 15 years for smuggling 24 kilograms of heroin in five bags that contained prayer beads, prayer mats and copies of the Quran at Dubai International Airport.
Customs inspectors stopped the 30-year-old Pakistani passenger, M.T., at Dubai International Airport’s arrivals terminal where he was caught in possession of the heroin that was hidden in his hand baggage.
Drugs prosecutors accused M.T. of smuggling and possessing heroin for promotional purposes.
However, the Dubai Court of First Instance scrapped the promotional intent and modified the accusation to smuggling and possessing drugs without any particular intent.
The passenger entered a guilty plea and confirmed that he brought the substance with him but said that he did not know what he carried.
When asked by presiding judge Mohammad Jamal about the purpose of bringing the banned substance with him from Pakistan, he replied: “A person handed me the five bags and asked me to take them to Dubai and give them to someone else.”
Presiding judge Jamal also fined M.T. Dh200,000.
The accused will be deported after serving his punishment.
An Emirati customs inspector testified that the defendant’s luggage was scanned at the arrivals terminal in June.
“The scanning machine revealed that each of the five bags had a double-layered bottom. When we opened the bags, we found prayer mats, prayer beads and copies of the Quran along with food and the drugs. When M.T. went to pick up his bags at the carousel, he was taken into custody. The heroin was stacked inside nylon sacks wrapped with black tape,” said the inspector.
Tuesday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
