150 offences in just two months

AL AIN: An Emirati who committed 150 traffic violations in Al Ain in two months, including driving at over 200km/h, tried to justify his repeated offences by telling the police that he was in a hurry.

His lame excuse, however, did not cut ice with traffic authorities. According to Al Ittihad newspaper, the 27-year-old was arrested and his car impounded. Colonel Hamad Al Balsoushi, Head of Al Ain Traffic Police, said the man accumulated a record 372 black points. Colonel Al Balsoushi said 32 offences involved over-speeding, of which half of them were for driving at over 200km/h.

"The driver tops the list of offending motorists in Al Ain," Colonel Al Balsoushi added.

Besides speeding, his offences included jumping red lights and driving dangerously.

Drugs in genitals

Dubai: A 32-year-old Kenyan woman, charged with trafficking 718g of methamphetamine by hiding the stimulant in her genitals while in transit in Dubai International Airport, has pleaded not guilty.

A police officer said authorities became suspicious of the woman as she was walking awkwardly.

According to records, the woman carried a roll of paper containing a white substance, later identified as methamphetamine, in her genitalia. Six more capsules, which she had ingested, were recovered after she was taken to a Dubai hospital. The next hearing is on May 4.

Woman held with 7kg of cocaine

A woman has been referred to Public Prosecution after she was arrested for allegedly possessing more than 7kg of cocaine at Dubai International Airport, an official in the anti-narcotics unit of Dubai police said.

The Anti-Narcotics Department of Dubai police arrested T.N., a woman of African origins, on April 12 at Terminal 1 for possessing 7kg of cocaine which she brought with her from Sao Paulo and was heading to Addis Ababa on April 12.

Dubai police stated that the suspect was arrested based on a reliable police informant. Once the members of the anti-narcotics unit confirmed her identity based on her passport and personal documentation which were in her possession, she was taken for inspection. "We discovered that she had hidden a large number of different types of cocaine in four out of the six bags she was carrying with her at the time," an anti-narcotics operative stated.

Official said that in the first bag, they found 1.092 kg of cocaine in a rectangular block wrapped in duct tape.

In the second bag they found 1 kg of cocaine at the bottom of the woman's handbag. As for the third bag, police found a small carton with 12 blue and white packs with "silicon substance" written on it, but which were all filled with 2kg of heroin.

In the fourth bag, a smaller box with 12 packs were stuffed the same way, while the bottom of the woman's fourth bag was found lined with the illegal substance.

Uzbek woman denies human trafficking in appeal court

A woman made a tearful appeal before the judge as she denied charges of sexually exploiting a 21-year-old girl and forcing her into prostitution.

"I am not guilty," said J.A., a 38-year-old Uzbek defendant told the Court of Appeals prosecution on Wednesday, before she began weeping.

"I've never committed crimes before. I have a witness to prove I didn't do such things. I want to hear this girl's statements, I want to see her face-to-face and hear what she has to say. Please I need to see her, I have to. I didn't do this. I didn't do any wrong."

Prosecutors charged J.A. of committing a human trafficking crime, imprisoning and coercing the victim, L.P. into having sex with men for money, records show.

A lower court earlier sentenced J.A. to a five years jail in term and deportation on March 27.

According to the prosecution records, J.A. deceived 21-year-old L.P. when she brought her to Dubai with false promises to work as a housemaid before imprisoning her in an apartment .

Records state that she coerced L.B. by forcing her to sleep with various men for money. Prosecutors say the J.A. kept all the money from the said sex trade.

L.B. testified that she complained to several sex clients numerous times and pleaded for their help. She said one of her clients then advised her to call 999, records show.

In her statements to prosecutors, L.B. said the defendant confiscated her passport and imprisoned her in a flat behind Burjuman Centre, with nine other women.

She told prosecutors that the nine women told her they worked as prostitutes for J.A.

L.B. stated that because she was new to Dubai and did not know anyone, was threatened and had to comply with J.A.'s demands.

J.A. allegedly used to charge customers Dh1,000 per night, Dh500 per hour and Dh300 per intercourse, L.B. told prosecutors.

Prosecution records revealed that L.B. called 999 on her way to a client in the other flat and a police patrol picked her up seven minutes later.

The next hearing is scheduled on May 4.

Driver in court : Starter nicker

A driver in court on Wednesday denied stealing a truck ignition device worth Dh10,000.

Pakistani T.B., 30, told the court that he had nothing to do with the theft of the machine. He was charged with theft using a weapon. Records revealed that he allegedly used a screwdriver and a knife to cut the wires linking the device to the truck. Prosecutors said another unidentified suspect, who has not been arrested, helped T.B. steal the device.

The truck was owned by Linkage International Shipping Company and was parked in Al Aweer at the time of the theft.

A verdict is scheduled on May 4.

Drug mule caught : bagfuls of cocaine

A woman of African origin has been referred to the Public Prosecution after being arrested at Dubai International Airport with more than 7kg of cocaine, an official in the Anti-Narcotics Department of Dubai Police said.

The woman, identified as T.N., was arrested at Terminal 1 on April 12. According to reports, she brought the cocaine from Sao Paulo in Brazil and was heading to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa when she was nabbed. "We discovered a large amount of cocaine in four of the six bags she was carrying," an official said.

Officials found 1.092kg of cocaine in her luggage, another kg of cocaine in the woman's handbag. A small carton yielded 12 blue-and-white packs filled with 2kg of cocaine while 12 packs of cocaine were found in a fourth bag.

Cable theft: Electricians in prison

Two electricians pleaded guilty on Wednesday to stealing around 50kg of cables from the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and selling them in Sharjah. Defendants R.M., 21, and S.A., 25, from Bangladesh confessed to stealing the cables from a deserted area in Al Khawaneej 1.

According to prosecutors, they were arrested at around 2.15am on February 27, when a police officer spotted them getting out of a taxi in Al Khawaneej. The officer said he stopped one of the men and asked him why he was in that area at that hour. While the officer was questioning the man, the taxi sped away, leaving the defendant behind. The officer chased the taxi and found two bags in its back seat containing large iron cutters and several empty plastic bags. During investigations, the men confessed that they had dug up buried cables and had removed the tags that identified their owner.

A verdict is expected on May 4.