Dubai: Twin sisters, who smuggled cannabis-laced candy that they purchased from Amsterdam, were handed a reduced punishment on Monday. The duo were caught with the candies during a four-day holiday in Dubai.
The 20-year-old South African twins visited more than four European cities before arriving in Dubai for a short holiday. Airport officials seized 39 pieces of candy mixed with cannabis in their luggage in July.
Citing grounds of leniency, the Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the two sisters to three months in jail for smuggling and possessing candy laced with cannabis.
The twins had pleaded not guilty when they appeared in court and contended that they purchased the candy from abroad and did not know that it contained any banned substances.
“There was nothing written on the candy box from outside that it contained cannabis. Our dad asked us to carry those candies but we did not know that they contained any drugs,” said one of the sisters.
Presiding judge Urfan Omar said the candies [nearly 500g cannabis] will be confiscated and the two sisters will be deported.
Advocate Nasser Malallah, who defended the twins, argued in court that his clients had no criminal intent and were not aware that the candy was laced with drugs.
“My clients were on a European tour and crossed several cities and airports, where the authorities did not stop them for carrying the candy. They purchased them in Amsterdam and when they did, the boxes of candy did not have any mention of them containing cannabis. The candy tastes like hashish but it does not contain hashish … it is just like any other material used to add flavour and smell to food products. Spain, which is famous for having zero tolerance for drug crimes, did not stop my clients when they went through its airport,” defended Malallah.
The twins notified the authorities that they were carrying candy that tasted like hashish but does not contain hashish, the lawyer said.
“My clients were absolutely not aware that the candy which they had purchased contained a substance that is banned in the UAE. They had no intention to breach the UAE’s anti-narcotics laws. The candy were not hidden or packed in a secret way in the luggage but they were packed normally. This proves that the sisters did not have any intent to smuggle a substance that they thought to be candies. We ask the court to treat them with utmost leniency,” argued lawyer Malallah.
Monday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.