DUBAI: Two men on visit visas denied smuggling more than one million amphetamine pills hidden inside a shipment of furniture at Dubai Criminal Court on Thursday. The pair – a 32-year-old Iranian and a Turk, 60 – were caught last October in possession of 1,133,969 amphetamine pills and were charged with possessing the drugs to sell. They were caught after police were tipped off about the first defendant being involved in using and selling drugs.
“After the information was confirmed, we obtained an arrest warrant and apprehended the Iranian suspect on October 24 last year in a warehouse in Al Quoz industrial area, where we found 193.6 kilograms of the drug,” said a police lieutenant colonel, 44. He added that the suspect admitted being given the drugs by the Turk. “He told us the drugs came in a furniture shipment from Greece. It was stashed inside chairs and was kept in the warehouse since then,” said the officer, adding that the second defendant was arrested at his home in Al Quoz. The Turk allegedly confessed during police questioning that he is the owner of the drugs and he had them shipped here to sell them. However, in court he denied the charge. The next hearing will be on June 8.
