UAE | Crime
Four visitors acquitted of resisting arrest
Four African visitors have been cleared of resisting arrest when an anti-narcotics squad raided their house in Hamriya following a tip that they possessed drugs.
- By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:32 December 27, 2008
Dubai: Four African visitors have been cleared of resisting arrest when an anti-narcotics squad raided their house in Hamriya following a tip that they possessed drugs.
The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced two of the visitors, 32-year-old Nigerian A.B. and 37-year-old J.K., from Ivory Coast, to four years in jail followed by deportation.
Presiding Judge Abdul Majid Al Nezamy, acquitted A.B., J.K. and their counterparts, 40-year-old Nigerian N.J. and 24-year-old Kenyan female P.M., of resisting arrest and pushing members of the anti-narcotics squad during arrest.
Insufficient evidence convinced the court to acquit the quartet of possessing six heroin capsules and marijuana.
On the grounds of poor evidence, Presiding Judge Al Nezamy also cleared J.K. of wrecking a police handcuff which records said was used to chain the 37-year-old.
The Public Prosecution charged the four with possessing 88.5 grams of heroin and 2.5 grams of marijuana plus resisting arrest. A.B. was charged with consuming morphine and J.K. was charged with using hashish and destroying handcuffs.
Testimony
An Emirati anti-narcotics police first lieutenant testified three of the visitors locked themselves inside a bathroom where they reportedly attempted to dispose of the drugs.
"Police officers had to break open the door and take them out of the restroom...two of them claimed that the marijuana belonged to A.B. who reportedly asked them to hide away in the washroom," claimed the first lieutenant in his statement to the Public Prosecution. He stated that some of the drugs capsules were thrown down the toilet and another capsule was thrown out of the window.
An anti-narcotics police second lieutenant testified that the squad raided the house around 1:15am. "They strongly resisted the arrest procedures...one of the policemen found drug capsules under a bed mattress and two others which were left near the television." he said. "A.B. confessed to me that he owned the marijuana for personal use. He also alleged that an African man had given him the drugs before his departure,"
Extortion: Merchant warned
Two workers have pleaded not guilty to threatening, verbally and in writing, to kill a merchant or a member of his family if he refused to pay them Dh63,700.
Records said the Indian suspects, a 31-year-old clerk and a 30-year-old office boy, called the merchant from different landlines across the city and sent him a letter.
When the clerk, M.A., and the office boy, K.M., appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance they denied threatening to kill the 42-year-old merchant, N.K., as charged by the Public Prosecution.
The alleged victim said one of his employees handed him a threatening letter. "An Indian messenger came to my company and handed over the letter to my employee...the letter...read that I should pay Dh63,700 otherwise I or any member of my family will be killed." N.K. testified in his statement.
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