Dubai: A chemist has been jailed for seven years for possessing 483 Pregabalin pills that she was caught carrying in her luggage at the Dubai International Airport.
On Sunday, the Dubai Court of First Instance also fined 37-year-old Chinese chemist Dh50,000 for smuggling and possessing the banned pills although she claimed that she carried them for scientific research and development purposes.
Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said the defendant will be deported after serving her punishment.
The defendant’s lawyer argued in court that his client did not have any criminal intent when she carried the pills and was carrying them for research purposes.
“My client is a chemist and holds a postgraduate degree in chemistry. She is a business partner in a pharmaceutical products company in her country and she had flown to Pakistan for research purposes. She did not even buy those pills for herself,” the defendant’s lawyer argued before the court.
The chemist provided the court with an official letter from the Chinese company confirming that she had been tasked to carry the Pregabalin pills for research purposes.
“The letter mentioned that my client had been commissioned to carry those pills only for research purposes and not for personal consumption. She was apprehended at the transit section and she does not reside in the UAE. She could not find a direct flight from Pakistan to China and so she booked on Emirates Airlines … the customs inspector who stopped her also testified that my client had admitted to her that she was flying via Dubai in transit. she obtained the requested permission to carry the Pregabalin in Pakistan and in China … and she did not know that she had to obtain permission to carry those pills because she was not scheduled to stay in Dubai,” argued the lawyer.
The lawyer provided the court with copies of the defendant’s university degrees confirming that his client is a chemist and pharmacist.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
