Dubai: An airport porter has been jailed for three months and fined Dh5,000 for stealing two liquor bottles and transferring the alcohol into water bottles to take it with him.

A duty policeman who was searching porters when they leave the premises of the Dubai International Airport, noticed an unusual bulge in the trouser of the Nepalese porter, 29, in August. Upon frisking him, the policeman found two drinking water bottles taped to the porter’s legs.

When confronted, the Nepalese defendant instantly admitted he had poured liquor from the original bottles into the water bottles.

On Tuesday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the Nepalese defendant of stealing two liquor bottles worth Dh90 and possessing alcohol illegally.

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal ordered the accused to repay Dh90 to the catering company that provides beverages to the airport.

“The accused will have to pay a fine of Dh5,000 and will be deported after serving his punishment,” said presiding judge Jamal in courtroom three.

The accused admitted that he stole the liquor for drinking. “Yes, I stole the liquor,” he told the court when he entered a guilty plea.

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.