Sergeant who accepted drugs as bribe loses appeal

Dubai: A police sergeant lost his appeal on Sunday and will spend four years in jail for taking four tramadol pills as a bribe to smuggle the tablets to a detainee in a police station.

The 27-year-old sergeant, B.O., who was stationed at Al Rashidiya police station, abused his position and smuggled various banned substances to the 26-year-old Emirati detainee, M.S.

M.S. was detained when he offered the bribe to B.O. to smuggle morphine, oxazepam, clonazepam, procyclidine and tramadol into the detention centre for him.

The Dubai Appeal Court dismissed B.O.’s appeal and upheld the primary ruling against him.

“The defendant’s appeal has been rejected,” said presiding judge Eisa Mohammad Al Sharif on Sunday.

B.O. was also convicted of consuming tramadol and procyclidine.

In January, the Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced M.S. in absentia to four years in jail for bribing a police officer and possessing and consuming various banned substances.

An Emirati defendant, A.A., was also sentenced in absentia to four years for consuming morphine, procyclidine and tramadol.

When he entered his plea before the appellate court, B.O. argued: “I did not take any bribe but I consumed tramadol.”

M.S. refuted all his accusations while A.A. admitted that he consumed morphine.

An anti-narcotics police captain said an informant alerted them that the sergeant was smuggling drugs to detainees.

“We arrested the defendant [B.O.] after obtaining prosecutors’ permission. Upon questioning, B.O. claimed that M.S. handed him Dh3,100 and asked him to give it to A.A.’s brother when he visits the police station. He claimed that M.S. told him that A.A.’s brother would give him two pills hidden inside a pack of cigarettes. He admitted that he smuggled the pack and, in return, he took tramadol pills from M.S. B.O. alleged during questioning that he smuggled drugs to M.S. three times before his arrest,” claimed the captain.

Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 30 days.