Dubai Court upholds punishment of two people for importing psychotropic substances
- 21 Feb 2025
Dubai Court of Appeal upheld a verdict issued by the Court of First Instance sentencing two Africans to seven years in jail to be followed by deportation and fining them Dhs200,000 each for importing 1,200 psychotropic substances listed under the federal law’s schedule of drugs.
Earlier, a customs inspector at Dubai Airport suspected the suitcase of one of the defendants coming from his home country. The inspector stated that he noticed that there was something abnormal in the suitcase while passing through the x-ray scanner machine. He asked the defendant if he had any prohibited items in his suitcase but the latter denied.
The inspector stated in the interrogations that personal inspection of the defendant and his suitcase led a large quantity of pills suspected to be psychotropic substances to be found. The incident was reported to the airport police, who arrested the defendant.
A policeman stated in the interrogations that the defendant admitted that he received the items seized inside the suitcase from another person in his home country, who alleged that the items were foodstuffs that should be delivered to a woman waiting for him at Dubai Airport.
The defendant showed messages indicating that the second defendant had communicated with him via WhatsApp but denied knowing that there were psychotropic substances inside his suitcase.
The policeman added that after examining the WhatsApp messages between the two defendants, the second defendant was arrested at the arrivals hall.
On interrogation, the second defendant admitted that she came to the airport to receive a suitcase based on the request of her brother in her home country but had no idea about what the suitcase contained.
According to Dubai Police’s forensic laboratory report, the seized 1,200 tablets were narcotics and psychotropic substances listed under schedule no. 8 of the law combating narcotics and psychotropic substances.