Women deny using narcotics before court

Dubai: Two Emirati women denied the charge of taking drugs before a court yesterday even as the husband of one of the suspects admitted that he had kept drugs for personal use.

One of the female suspects, 35-year-old K.A., pleaded not guilty and denied the charge of having hashish in her possession when she defended herself before the Dubai Court of First Instance. Her 49-year-old compatriot, housewife A.J., also denied taking hashish before Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir.

Her 46-year-old husband, A.S., admitted that he had kept 0.48 grams of opium and 1.05 grams of hashish for personal use.

Prosecutors also charged a 42-year-old Pakistani representative, S.A., of smuggling and possessing 103 grams of hashish for trading purposes. "I possessed the hashish for my personal use and not for trafficking," S.A. pleaded in courtroom four on Monday.

A 37-year-old Emirati employee, A.H., pleaded guilty and admitted the charge of smuggling drugs for personal use. He also confessed that he smoked hashish.

An Emirati anti-narcotics second lieutenant testified that police detained A.H. at his workplace. "He admitted that he consumed hashish. We arrested S.A. near a graveyard in Sharjah, and he as well admitted that he took hashish along with A.H," the second lieutenant said in his statement.