Dubai: A man has been jailed for 10 years and slapped with a fine of Dh100,000 for possessing 2.1kg of drugs that he tried to transport to another person, who turned out to be an informant.
Acting on a tipoff, drug enforcement officers apprehended the 33-year-old jobless man shortly after he handed over two bags that contained heroin and methamphetamine to the informant in July 2016.
The Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday jailed the 33-year-old Iranian defendant to 10 years in jail after convicting him of possessing 1kg of heroin and 1.1kg of methamphetamine for promotional purposes.
Presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi also fined the accused Dh100,000 for intending to promote the banned substances.
The accused will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
The accused had entered a not guilty plea during trial.
“An Iranian person handed me the bag and asked me to deliver it to another person. I was supposed to be given the details of that person over the phone later. I did not know that the bag contained banned substances,” the defendant contended in court.
An anti-narcotics policeman told prosecutors that drug enforcement officers arrested the defendant in a sting operation in Al Aweer.
“An informant alerted us that the defendant possessed heroin and methamphetamine that he was supposed to hand over to another person. We commissioned the informant to contact the defendant and arrange for a meetup near a hypermarket. Once we spotted the defendant moving towards the informant carrying two bags, we raided the spot and arrested him. Upon searching the bags, we found heroin and methamphetamine. We took him to his hotel room, where we did not find any further drugs. During questioning, he claimed that he had been asked to deliver the bags to another person without discussing money,” the policeman testified to prosecutors.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
