Dubai: Passenger smuggling 4 kg cocaine for $500 reward sentenced to life
A transit passenger sentenced by Dubai Criminal Court to life in prison and then deportation, after trying to hide more than 4kg of cocaine in his bags. Life prison term is usually 25 years in UAE.
The Malaysian passenger was convicted of drug trafficking at Dubai International Airport. The 37-year-old was caught on 13 July 2023 in Lisbon and Dubai on his way from Brazil to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
Customs officers at the airport saw the defendant looking nervous and unable to walk.
He had to show his passport and was taken to a transit inspection point where his hand baggage would be searched. Authorities found two plastic-lined packages containing a white powdery powder in the bag’s bottom and top compartments.
Fforensic testing from the General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology showed that the cocaine seized was cocaine in weight of 4,193.5 grams.
The accused confessed in the course of the investigation that a person in Brazil offered him to bring the bag to Malaysia for $500. He said he had no idea what it was but they said it was "a valuable object" and he had to move it out of state so he would not have to pay tax.
But, according to the court, the volume of the packages and concealment suggested that he knew all there was to know about the illegal content. The man pleaded not guilty in court and said he was not with intent to traffic drugs and knew nothing about the illegal stuff.
His defence was dismissed by the court as evidence, his police confession, the forensics report, and the arresting officer’s testimony as experts. The court added that drug trafficking is punishable under UAE law even in transit cases where the drug products have been brought into the country.
This decision also took into account the defendant’s involuntary behaviour (for instance, accepting to transport the contraband for payment) and trying to hide it.
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