DUBAI: A WhatsApp friend landed a woman passenger in court after law officers busted her hiding nearly 1kg of cocaine in her underwear that she tried to transport via Dubai in transit.
The 29-year-old Zambian woman, Z.S., was said to have met a Nigerian friend on WhatsApp before he invited her to attend a carnival in Brazil. He accommodated her in a hotel for two weeks in Brazil, according to prosecution records, before another person convinced her to transport some substances to Georgia via Dubai in transit and paid her $8,000 (Dh29,383).
Once she landed at Dubai International Airport’s transit section, according to records, law enforcement officers suspected her as she walked strangely and obviously there was something hidden between her legs.
After being strip-searched by a policewoman at the airport, nearly 1.06kg of cocaine was found hidden in her underwear that also contained secretly-sewn folds.
Drugs prosecutors accused the Zambian suspect of transporting drugs via Dubai in transit and asked for the implementation of the toughest punishment applicable (15 years in jail and maximum fine of Dh200,000}.
When she appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance, Z.S. pleaded not guilty and contended that she was not aware that she was carrying a banned substance.
When asked by the presiding judge why she had agreed to transport the substances, the suspect pleaded for mercy claiming that she has HIV and requested to be deported quickly.
The policewoman, who searched the defendant at the airport, claimed to prosecutors that her partner asked her to search Z.S., who was spotted walking strangely.
“She seemed petrified and walked heavily … 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 one of the stretches with a pin 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 alleged that she communicated with her friend on WhatsApp and she travelled to Brazil to attend a carnival, where she met another person who commissioned her to transport the substances for money,” added the policewoman.
