DUBAI: A truck driver has been sentenced to two years in jail for smuggling and possessing 845g of methamphetamine hidden in a big plastic bag.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 28-year-old Pakistani truck driver, M.A., of possessing and smuggling mind-altering substances despite having contended in court that he had been framed.
Drug enforcement officers discovered 28 small nylon sacks, according to records, inside the bag that contained the methamphetamine hidden in the defendant’s truck in January.
Prosecutors had charged M.A. with possessing mind-altering substances for promotional purposes.
Meanwhile, presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat modified the accusation from possessing banned substances for promotional intent to possession without intent.
“The accused will pay a fine of Dh20,000. The seized substances will be confiscated,” said presiding judge Abdul Lat in court on Thursday.
When he showed up in court, the defendant said he was a heavy truck driver and transported consignments daily.
“Someone is trying to frame me. I was asked to take that consignment, but I did not know that someone had planted the banned substances in the truck. I am being framed …,” he told the court as he refuted his accusations.
When asked if he was aware of the nature of the seized substances, the accused replied: “I did not know that I was transporting a banned substance … I did not know it was illegal.”
According to Thursday’s ruling, the accused will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
An anti-narcotics lieutenant testified that the defendant was arrested following an informant’s tip that he was about to smuggle drugs outside the UAE.
“The informant alerted us that the defendant was present in the fruits and vegetables market in Ras Al Khor … the accused was stopped near Jebel Ali. When asked if he was carrying drugs, he confessed that he had a bag full of methamphetamine. We searched the heavy truck and found the banned substance. Upon confrontation, the driver alleged that he was paid Dh5,000 to take the banned substance to Saudi Arabia,” the lieutenant said in his statement.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
