Dubai
Dubai Court of Appeals sentenced a man, who was earlier cleared of charges of distributing drugs and facilitating consumption, to five years in jail.
The Dubai Court of First Instance had earlier found him innocent over lack of evidence.
The 24-year-old Indian was arrested after police were tipped off by his customers in May last year.
“We arrested two drug users and both men said they got the drugs from the Indian defendant. They claimed that the man gave them the drugs for free,” a police officer at the Anti-Narcotic Department in Dubai Police said in official records.
The Indian defendant was arrested in June last year for distributing drugs.
Both customers were referred to the Court of Misdemeanours over charges of consuming hashish.
The defendant denied possessing or distributing drugs during interrogation. He also denied facilitating consumption of drugs to others.
Dubai Public Prosecution appealed the verdict and the Appeal Court sentenced the defendant to five years in prison to be followed by deportation. The court also ordered the defendant to pay Dh20,000 fine.
