Drug smuggler gets 10-year jail term and Dh50,000 fine

Dubai: A Pakistani national has been jailed for ten years and fined Dh50,000 by the Dubai court for smuggling about half a kilogram of heroin capsules in his stomach.

The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the 22-year-old after presiding Judge Abdul Majid Al Nezamy convicted the man of unlawfully couriering a banned substance into the country, with the intent to pass it on to his partner. The accused admitted to transporting the heroin but denied that he intended to peddle the drug.

He stated in court he would have earned Rs40,000 by delivering the drugs as a 'favour' to someone he said he had never met.

"I did smuggle the drugs in my stomach...I didn't plan to use them for myself nor sell them," said S.A.

The Public Prosecution charged him with illegal transport of 464 grams of the banned substance in six capsules, which he swallowed before he flew to Dubai.

An Emirati customs inspector testified that S.A.'s luggage was searched when he arrived at Dubai airport from Lahore.

"We didn't find anything suspicious in his belongings...we discovered strange objects in his stomach when we scanned his body. He alleged that he was unaware of the capsules' content," the customs inspector said.