Dubai: A worker has been jailed for two years for possessing and planting at his residence cannabis seeds that he alleged to have mistaken for tomato seeds.
Acting upon an informant’s tip-off, drug enforcement officers raided the 32-year-old Indian worker’s residence in Jebel Ali and seized different quantities of marijuana in April.
After the informant reported that the worker had allegedly planted, possessed and consumed marijuana, Dubai Police’s Anti-narcotics Department officers obtained prosecutors’ search and arrest warrant before they raided the Indian’s house.
Following his arrest, the Indian defendant tested positive for hashish.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of planting 0.51gm of cannabis, consuming hashish and possessing nearly 24gm of marijuana in different forms and shapes for personal consumption.
Records said the seized drugs were in the form of cannabis seeds that were ready to be planted while others were in grass [marijuana] form.
The accused pleaded not guilty and argued in court that he didn’t plant cannabis seeds.
“I did not know that those seeds were cannabis. I thought I had planted tomato seeds and when they grew enough to be harvested, I realised that it was not tomato. I consumed hashish and possessed some but not for planting or harvesting,” the defendant argued before the presiding judge.
According to the primary ruling, the accused will be deported after serving his jail term.
When questioned by prosecutors, the suspect was cited as admitting that he possessed and consumed drugs after tests had shown traces of tetra-hydro cannabinol (THC), an active component of hashish, was found in his system.
The accused has appealed his primary judgement and is scheduled appear before the appellate court next month.
