Man jailed for life for selling methamphetamine
Drug enforcement officers raided flat where man had been consuming drugs with girlfriend
Dubai: A man will spend life in prison for possessing methamphetamine for trading purposes and providing his girlfriend with the substance so they could consume it together at home.
Drug enforcement officers, based on an informant’s tip off, arrested the 35-year-old Filipino man, O.A., in possession of 4.75g of methamphetamine hidden in his pockets outside the building where he lived in Satwa in April.
The Dubai Court of First Instance also fined the accused Dh50,000 following his conviction of possessing methamphetamine for trading purposes and providing it to others.
According to the primary ruling, the seized substances will be confiscated while O.A. will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
When a drug enforcement team raided the defendant’s house, they also found his Filipina girlfriend, C., acting suspiciously as if she was on drugs.
Later she tested positive for methamphetamine.
The Filipino earlier denied possessing banned substances for trading purposes contending that he did not sell drugs.
“I possessed it for my own consumption,” O.A. said.
When asked whether he provided his girlfriend with methamphetamine, the accused replied: “I did not. She lives with me and she consumed the same substance that I had consumed… I did not give it to her.”
An anti-narcotics police captain testified that after obtaining permission from the prosecutors, a police team headed to Satwa.
“We spotted O.A. standing at the entrance of the building where he stayed. We searched him and found methamphetamine hidden in his pockets. He had two plastic pouches and a small nylon bag. Then we took him to his residence where we found the woman [C.] to be under the influence of methamphetamine. We searched his bedroom and found more banned substances hidden there. The defendant admitted during questioning that he and his girlfriend had consumed methamphetamine a few hours before their arrest. Meanwhile, the woman alleged that O.A. provided her with the substance,” the captain told prosecutors.
The defendant was quoted as saying to the investigating prosecutor that a Korean man had provided him with the methamphetamine to sell to another man for Dh10,000. The Filipino alleged that he was promised Dh1,000 as payment.
Court records showed that C. is to stand trial soon before the Dubai Misdemeanours Court for consuming methamphetamine.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal.
