Dubai: Two visitors have been accused of importing 1.1 million pills of amphetamine for peddling before anti-drug officers seized the banned pills hidden in a furniture warehouse.
A 32-year-old Iranian visitor and his 60-year-old Turkish accomplice were said to have imported the banned pills in a furniture consignment from Greece in October.
Acting upon an informant’s tipoff, anti-drug enforcement officers seized the 193kg of amphetamine pills hidden in the warehouse in Al Qouz and apprehended the two men in a sting operation.
Prosecutors charged the Iranian and the Turkish suspects of importing drugs that they possessed for peddling purposes.
The Iranian pleaded not guilty when he showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.
Presiding judge Urfan Omar adjourned the hearing until a Turkish language translator is made available for the 60-year-old suspect to enter his plea on June 8.
An anti-narcotics police major told prosecutors that a police team raided the warehouse and apprehended the Iranian suspect in a sting operation.
“We seized a black bag on the floor that contained 18 grey-coloured mouldings … upon confronting the suspect, he admitted that it is a banned substance. During questioning, he claimed that he agreed with the Turkish man to import furniture from Greece and they hid the 1.1 million pills in the consignment. He also claimed that he was scheduled to fly out to Turkey to collect Dh18,500. Then we apprehended the Turkish suspect, who was present in the Iranian’s flat,” the major testified.
The trial continues.
