Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals has reduced the life sentence given to a man charged with smuggling, possessing and trading heroin to 10 years and Dh50,000 with deportation, a statement by the court said on Wednesday.
The accused had been initially caught at the Abu Dhabi Airport with 96 capsules consisting of 616gm of heroin hidden in his intestines. The pills were discovered after police officers took the defendant to get a medical examination after they noticed he was exhibiting signs of illness at the airport.
After a check-up, a suspicious package was seen inside the defendant’s body prompting his immediate transfer to a hospital where the tablets were extracted and their contents examined.
The accused has confessed to trafficking the substance but claimed that he had no knowledge of what the pills contained. He also said that he carried out the operation based on an agreement he had with a person in his home country to deliver the pills to an anonymous source in Abu Dhabi.
The defence mentioned that the forensics report and urine sample analysis did not show signs of drug abuse which would therefore annul the charge of abuse. The third argument was the lack of criminal intention on the defendant’s behalf as he claimed to not have known the nature of the chemical he was smuggling into the country.
These reasons prompted the Court of Appeals to lower the life sentence to 10 years with a Dh50,000 fine and deportation after completion of sentence.
