Two get life in prison for promoting drugs in Dubai

Gulf Today

19-02-2025

Dubai Criminal Court convicted two Asians and sentenced them to life jail, with their deportation from the country after serving their sentence.
The court also fined them Dhs500,000 each and ordered the confiscation of the seized items.
They were also prohibited for two years after the completion of their sentence from transferring or depositing any money for others, except with the permission of the Central Bank of the UAE in coordination with the Ministry of Interior.
The details of the incident date back to February 2024, when reliable information was received by the General Department of Anti-Narcotics, alerting that the suspects resided in Hor Al Anz area, and possessed a quantity of hashish for the purpose of promoting to drug users in return for money.
A policeman stated during the interrogations that, after search, the information was confirmed to be accurate, and a warrant was issued by the Public Prosecution. He added that a team from the General Department of Anti-Narcotics rushed to the site, where they monitored the suspects, who were arrested.
Upon searching the first suspect, three wraps containing a dark-coloured substance weighing 62 grammes were found in his pants pocket, while another quantity of drugs was found in the possession of the second suspect.
The suspects admitted that they had hidden eight other wraps of the same narcotic substance in different geographical locations in the same area, so they were accompanied by a police patrol to the sites, where the drugs were found.
They were then taken to their residence in Al Raqa area, where they guided the police to a bag inside a wardrobe, which contained more than 550 grammes of various narcotic substances listed in Schedule (1) of the Federal Law on Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances.
Tools used for dividing and weighing drugs before packaging and preparing them for promotion were also found.
On being interrogated, the suspects confessed to promoting drugs through social media platforms, through which they were used to receiving their value through bank transfers.
In court, they denied the charges, so the court appointed a lawyer to defend them.
It was proved to the court through the arrest incident, the suspects' confessions, and the report of the General Department of Forensic Evidence and Criminology, that they possessed the narcotic and psychotropic substances for promotion.