Man denies injecting friend with heroin before overdose

Dubai: Prosecutors are seeking capital punishment against a man who has been accused of providing heroin to his friend by injecting him before the latter overdosed and died.

The 27-year-old Emirati man, O.A., was said to have injected his friend with heroin before the latter died of a drug overdose in December.

Drugs prosecutors accused O.A. of providing the deceased with drugs and asked the Dubai Court of First Instance to implement the capital punishment as per articles 44 and 45 of the anti-narcotics law.

The minimum punishment in such cases is five years in jail and/or a Dh20,000 fine.

The suspect pleaded not guilty and dismissed the accusation of providing the deceased with a heroin injection when he defended himself before presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi on Wednesday.

Law enforcement officers were informed about an incident of drug overdose and death in a house in Al Ghusais.

Drug officers seized from the house a heroin syringe that was referred to Dubai Police’s forensic laboratory for examination.

According to records, the fingerprints of O.A. matched those lifted from the syringe.

The suspect firmly refuted the accusation and asked the court to acquit him.

A ruling will be heard on April 27.