DUBAI: Dubai customs arrested two Omani nationals for smuggle hashish into country at Hatta border crossing when they came on a visit from Oman.
The Omani visitors, 28-year-old M.K. and 30-year-old M.M., were said to have hidden the hashish beside the gearbox and in the pocket of one of the doors when they were stopped by a customs inspector at the Hatta border crossing.
Prosecutors accused M.K. of smuggling and possessing around 5gm of hashish for his personal consumption and M.M. was accused of smuggling and possessing 0.15gm of hashish for his personal use as well.
The defendants pleaded guilty and admitted that they smuggled the drugs from Oman when they showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance.
The Omani visitors contended before presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi that they possessed the hashish for personal consumption.
A customs inspector testified to prosecutors that he suspected the visitors’ car once it arrived at the border’s checkpoint.
“M.K. was driving the car… I asked him to pull over to have the car searched. When I searched the car, I found a transparent nylon sack with a piece of hashish inside it hidden in the right door’s pocket. Another piece of hashish was also found in the dashboard. A third piece of the same drug was also found beside the gearbox. When I confronted the duo with the findings, they confessed that they had smuggled and possessed the hashish to consume during their stay,” he claimed to prosecutors.
When questioned by prosecutors, the defendants confessed that they possessed the drugs for their personal use.
A ruling will be heard on April 15.
