Businessman gets one year in prison for smuggling and possessing drugs

Dubai: A businessman has been sentenced to one year in jail for smuggling and possessing drugs.

The Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday said the Saudi businessman, identified as A.A., would be deported after serving the sentence.

The Public Prosecution charged the Saudi with smuggling and possessing two yellow pills, which contained an amphetamine.

Customs inspectors arrested A.A. during a random search for drugs among visitors at Dubai International Airport before referring him to the Anti-Narcotics Department. His defence lawyer told the court earlier that a driver had slipped two pills into A.A.'s pocket.

"The suspect who earns more than $1 million per year did not know that he was carrying the pills, which were most likely slipped into his pocket when he slept in a taxi in Saudi Arabia," said his advocate.

"When the yellow pills were found in his possession, A.A. was confident that it was medicine. He was acting very normally until an inspector told him that the pills could contain drugs," said the lawyer, hinting that his client was not aware about possessing drugs.

The lawyer said: "The confiscated pills could have been tampered with because the seized ones were yellow in colour and not beige. The customs inspector assumed that the yellow pills were Captagon, which is considered a recreational drug and is banned in the UAE."

The defendant denied the charges during all stages of interrogation and pleaded innocent.

The criminal laboratory said his blood proved negative for drugs. The court sentenced him to one year in jail, and the ruling is still subject to appeal.