Dubai A Nigerian woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison although she claimed in court on Sunday that she was unaware she was carrying 7 kilogrammes of cocaine.
"Yes your honour I did carry those seven items… but I did not know that it was a banned substance. A man handed it to me in Nigeria's airport and asked me to deliver it to someone here in Dubai," the 37-year-old woman claimed before the Dubai Court of first Instance.
Prosecutors accused O.H. with smuggling and possessing seven packages of cocaine weighing around 7.11 kilogrammes in all.
When Presiding Judge Al Saeed Mohammad Barghout asked O.H. to present her defence, she said in a troubled voice: "I am seeking mercy and a swift ruling… I want to go back home."
Towards the end of the hearing in courtroom nine, Presiding Judge Barghout jailed O.H. for 10 years and fined her Dh50,000. She will be deported after the completion of her imprisonment.
An Emirati customs inspectors [who was at the counter at Dubai International Airport] testified that her colleague became suspicious about O.H. when she arrived from Nigeria.
"I took her to the search room. When I searched her, I did not find anything in her possession. When I searched her handbag, I found seven foils which were taped together… the foils contained a white substance which looked like cocaine. Upon questioning, she claimed that the foils were not for her. She alleged that her compatriot gave her the bag and asked her to deliver it to someone in Dubai," claimed the inspector in her prosecution statement.
