UAE | Crime

Dubai court sentences Saudi 'judge' and his wife to four years in jail on drug charges

A Saudi visitor, believed to be a judge, and his wife have been jailed for smuggling in and using drugs.

  • By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter
  • Published: 14:53 September 23, 2008
  • Gulf News

Dubai: A Saudi visitor, believed to be a judge, and his wife have been jailed for smuggling in and using drugs.

The Saudi Press Agency earlier published a statement, issued by the Saudi Ministry of Justice, which denied that the 46-year-old visitor is listed amongst its judicial cadres.

The Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday sentenced the 46-year-old visitor and his 30-year-old Moroccan wife to four years in jail. They will be deported after serving their sentences.

“I am innocent and I didn't smuggle, posses nor consume any kind of drugs," the visitor told Presiding Judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm during an earlier session. Meanwhile, his wife pleaded guilty to the same charges.

The Public Prosecution charged the visitor with illegally bringing in and possessing nearly 59 grams of hashish and hashish mixed with tobacco. He was also charged with consuming tetra-hydro cannabinol (THC), an active component of hashish and amphetamine. His wife was charged with consuming the same drug.

She admitted before the judge that she consumed hashish and that she smuggled the confiscated drugs to Dubai.

A captain at Dubai Police's Anti-Narcotics Department testified that the visitor and his wife were arrested at a hotel in the Rifaa area following a tip-off. "An anti-narcotics team raided the hotel room and found the drugs," he said.

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