10-year jail for smuggling crystal meth

The man, from Iran, has also been slapped a Dh50,000 fine by the Court of First Instance on the charge of smuggling narcotics. He will be deported after serving his sentence.

The verdict has been appealed at the Court of Appeal.

The defendant was arrested in June by the airport customs inspection officers with 3.8kgs of crystal meth carefully hidden in his baggage.

He admitted in the investigation that he tried to smuggle the drugs and claimed that he did not know what kind it was. He said he was given the quantity by a compatriot in Iran to be delivered to someone in Malaysia.

He was to get five million Iranian Tomans for the job when he was back in Iran after delivery of the drugs.

A customs inspection officer said the defendant raised suspicions because he looked agitated and in a hurry to reach the inspection point. The scanning of the defendant’s baggage showed an unusual density, especially the sides of his bags. When the baggage was searched, a transparent substance was found stuffed in the sides of the bag. Lab reports later proved that the substance seized was crystal meth.

mary@khaleejtimes.com