Dubai: A mechanic has been jailed for four years on drug charges although he claimed in court that he was only taking medication to stop the recurring headaches he had been suffering ever since a hair transplant procedure.

The Dubai Court of First Instance jailed the 35-year-old Pakistani mechanic after convicting him of smuggling and possessing 0.06 grammes of methamphetamine for personal consumption. A 24-year-old compatriot visiting the UAE was also jailed for four years after Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad yesterday pronounced him guilty of using hashish.

According to the bill of charges, prosecutors accused 35-year-old K.J. of unlawfully bringing 0.06 grammes of methamphetamine into the country for his personal use. Meanwhile 24-year-old K.M. was charged with consuming tetra-hydro cannabinol, an active component of hashish.

"The two accused will be deported after the completion of their punishments," said Presiding Judge Abdul Jawad in courtroom four.

Pain-relief plea

"I am not guilty. I do not take drugs. The material which was confiscated in my possession was a medicine. I had a recent hair implantation which had been causing me a constant headache. The substance which I consumed was for medical purposes," K.J. argued in court.

"I am not guilty. I consumed hashish, but that happened in Pakistan and not here," contended K.M. when he defended himself in court.

An Emirati first corporal testified that he became suspicious about the defendants during a random raid to a nightclub in Deira.

"I asked the defendants to present their personal identification documents, and when they failed to do so, I took them to the police station for questioning. I searched K.J., and found a suspicious white substance hidden in his wallet. Upon searching K.M., he turned out to be clean. We kept the two in detention until we were informed that the confiscated substance was amphetamine. We sent K.J. and K.M. to the Anti-Narcotics Department for drug tests," the first corporal claimed in his prosecution statement.

Dubai police reports confirmed that K.J. tested negative for drugs unlike K.M., who tested positive.

The judgment is subject to appeal within 15 days.