Hope of quick deportation crushed for drug user

Dubai: A visitor will spend the next four years behind prison bars after pleading guilty to smuggling and possessing marijuana for personal use, a court ruled.

The 32-year-old American, B.W., had confessed to the charges and asked Dubai Court of First Instance to deport him to the United States soon.

Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir said the accused would be deported after finishing his jail term.

The Public Prosecution charged him with illegally bringing in 0.45 grams of marijuana and two seeds of cannabis for personal use.

The suspect admitted that he took drugs in Addis Ababa two weeks before arriving in Dubai.

Forgotten in pocket

A female customs inspector testified: "I asked the defendant for his passport because I suspected him when he reached the customs search counter. [Searching] his handbag, I found some tobacco mixed with marijuana plus a seed of cannabis in the bottom of the bag. I also found a similar seed in his jacket which was in his red bag. The same kind of tobacco was also found in his black jeans."

Her colleague said: "I took the suspect to the search room and found a piece of tobacco mixed with marijuana in his trousers. When I asked him about the seed, he said it's marijuana and he forgot it in his pocket."