DUBAI: A woman passenger who smuggled 1kg of cocaine in her underwear via Dubai in transit will spend 10 years in jail.
The 29-year-old Zambian woman, Z.S., had met a Nigerian friend on WhatsApp before he invited her to attend a carnival in Brazil. Then he accommodated her in a hotel for two weeks in Brazil before another person convinced her to transport some substances to Georgia via Dubai in transit and paid her Dh29,000 to do so.
The Dubai Court of First Instance jailed Z.S. for 10 years and also fined her Dh50,000 for smuggling and transporting the cocaine via Dubai in transit.
Presiding judge Ezzat Mansour said the accused will be deported following the completion of her punishment.
Law enforcement officers stopped the defendant at Dubai International Airport’s transit section as she was walking strangely and they suspected she was hiding something between her legs.
After being strip searched by a policewoman at the airport, 1kg of cocaine was found hidden in her underwear that had secretly sewn folds.
Z.S. pleaded not guilty and contended that she was not aware that she was carrying a banned substance when she defended herself in court.
When asked by the presiding judge why she had agreed to transport the substances, she pleaded for leniency claiming that she has HIV and requested quick deportation.
A policewoman said her partner asked her to search Z.S., who was spotted walking strangely.
“She seemed petrified and walked oddly. Obviously she had something hidden between her legs. I took her to a private search room and asked her to strip. Once she did, I noticed that her underwear was strangely bulky … what she wore had secret folds inside. I tore open one of the folds and found a white substance inside. When I confronted her, she claimed that she did not know what substance she was carrying. We discovered that she had hidden drug capsules in her uterus as well. During questioning, she claimed that she was commissioned to transport the substance for money,” added the policewoman.
Monday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
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