Drug smugglers in Abu Dhabi get life imprisonment

Abu Dhabi: Two drug smugglers got life imprisonment for hashish smuggling, possessing and trading, the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court has ruled.

The traffickers were identified as A.G.A, an Arab in police custody, and AMA, from a Gulf country, who is on the run.

A third defendant, who is also Arab, was jailed 10 years for possession of drugs. The three will be deported following serving their prison terms, the court said.

Abu Dhabi Police foiled the attempt to distribute 85kg of hashish.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was tipped off that A.G.A was in possession of a quantity of hashish and was planning to sell the drug.

Based on the information the squad was tasked to track down the suspect. The squad was issued a warrant by the public prosecution to arrest the suspect.

He was arrested as he was attempting to sell a kilo of hashish to the police. He led the police to another quantity of drug hidden in a truck in Dubai. The police then arrested the truck driver, identified as Q.M.A, and seized 24 more kg of hashsish.

The police also seized 60 kg of drug as it was being delivered in Sharjah.

The second suspect is still at large and police are tracking him down in coordination with authorities in a Gulf country.

Drug abuse cases are the most common in the UAE despite the law being very tough on drug crimes in an attempt to curtail such offences.

Most drug offences carry a minimum jail term of four years, while the penalty for smuggling with intent to distribute is 10 years and a fine of Dh50,000. Trading in narcotics, which includes selling relatively small quantities, can carry a life sentence, or even the death penalty in the most serious cases.

According to statistics of the Interior Ministry's anti-narcotics department, the quantities seized in the country in 2008 included 1,013kg of hashish, 379kg of heroin and 23kg of opium. In 2007, authorities confiscated 858kg of hashish and 177kg of heroin.