African woman trying to smuggle cocaine into Dubai put behind bars for 10 years
- 05 Jun 2021
Sohaila Ahmed, Staff Reporter
The Dubai Public Prosecution has sentenced an African woman to 10 years in imprisonment with a fine of Dhs50,000.
She had attempted to smuggle 180 grammes of cocaine into Dubai.
The court records point out that customs officers had suspected the defendant and asked her to undergo a body and bag search. The scanner showed the existence of thin objects inside her bag.
One of the officers asked her if she had something to say or if she was in possession of any illegal items, and the defendant claimed she had nothing to hide.
The defendant got more nervous as her bag was being hand searched, and the officer found 3 rolls of cocaine hidden inside.
When asked about the drugs, the defendant claimed that she had no idea it was there, and that she had only bought the bag on the day prior to travelling.
The African visitor was detained and her case was transferred to anti-narcotics in order to charge her on drug-trafficking.
She was prosecuted by Dubai Courts and sentenced to a long period of jail sentence for committing such a felony.
Moreover, an Asian man had also faced the same jail sentence after attempting to smuggle about 50 grammes of heroin inside his stomach.
The incident dates back to last September, when the defendant was entering Dubai International Airport, and was stopped by a vigilant customs officer to be searched.
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The officer asked about the defendant’s possession of illegals, and learnt that he was not carrying them.
However, the defendant was asked to undergo a body scanner, which revealed strange objects placed inside his stomach.
The officers found 70 capsules of heroin hidden inside the traveler’s stomach; weighing about 50 grammes.
He was apprehended and transferred to the hospital to take out the drugs from inside his stomach.
The defendant confessed to smuggling the drugs in order to deliver it to another person inside the country.