Husband, wife jailed over drugs

Dubai: An Emirati merchant has been jailed and fined Dh20,000 for availing drugs to his wife who consequently got a four-year jail sentence for drugs consumption, a court ruled.

The Dubai Court of First Instance handed down the 52-year-old merchant five years in prison and slapped him the fine for possessing and consuming drugs plus facilitating his 47-year-old wife with different kinds of drugs.

Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad convicted the husband of possessing 22.6 grammes of hashish, a pouch of heroin and venoparpital drug weighing 0.14 grammes and a 0.45 grammes pouch of heroin, and diazepam, as charged by the Public Prosecution.

The court also incriminated the 52-year-old of consuming morphine, hashish, venoparpital, oxazipam, nordazipam, timazipam and lorazipam, and causing his wife to consume hashish, morphine and venoparpital.

The couple pleaded guilty to possessing and consuming drugs but the husband denied facilitating drugs to his wife. The 52-year-old accused told the judge that his wife had drugs on her own and he didn't cause her to use drugs. During the Public Prosecution's questioning, the couple admitted having drugs. An Emirati anti-narcotics police captain testified that an informant tipped the anti-narcotics department that the couple had drugs in their flat in Bur Dubai.

"An anti-narcotics police team raided the flat around 3am and arrested the wife and seized different drugs and special instruments which are used by drug addicts in her possession."

Records said the anti-narcotics police detained the husband in another flat in Al Rifaa area and seized different kinds of drugs. The primary judgment is still subject to appeal within 15 days.