Dubai: A police sergeant has been jailed for four years for accepting 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.

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

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

According to Wednesday’s ruling, presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi also sentenced an Emirati suspect, A.A., in absentia to four years for consuming morphine, procyclidine and tramadol.

The sergeant entered a not guilty plea when he defended himself before the court.

A.A. and M.S. are entitled to a retrial since they were sentenced in absentia.

Presiding judge Al Shamsi further ordered B.O. and M.S. to pay a joint fine of Dh1,000.

“I did not take any bribe,” argued B.O. in court.

When asked by the presiding judge if he consumed any banned substance, the accused [B.O.] replied: “Yes, I consumed tramadol.”

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

“M.S. did not consume any drug but he took some from me and consumed it without knowing that it was a drug,” A.A. told the court earlier.

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,” the captain claimed to prosecutors.