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Man jailed in UAE over hashish 'packed by mother in luggage'

Abu Dhabi - The man was returning from his home country after a short holiday.

A passenger, who was caught with hashish and blamed his mother's ignorance of the UAE law for packing him the drugs as he returned to Abu Dhabi, has been sentenced to a year in jail.
The Pakistani man was caught at the Abu Dhabi International Airport for carrying hashish in his luggage, but claimed in court that his mother, "who didn't know about the UAE laws", had put the drugs in the bag.
The man was returning from his home country after a short holiday. At the Abu Dhabi court, he had admitted to abusing drugs. 
Official court documents stated that he was stopped at the airport after custom officers suspected him of carrying drugs. When the security officers checked his bag, they found a small amount of hashish hidden inside his clothes. His urine sample also tested positive for hashish.
Prosecutors charged him with consuming drugs and trying to smuggle hashish into the UAE.
In the court, he admitted to the charge of using drugs and carrying the hashish in his bag but denied trying to smuggle the drugs into the country.
 "I had been using drugs back home, but not in the UAE," the defendant told the court during a previous hearing. "I got the habit from my family members and friends back home. Consuming drugs is a common thing in my home village and many young people do drugs."
The defendant said that because his mother knew he used drugs, she must have packed some hashish in his bag without realising it would cause him trouble. "I had no idea my bag contained drugs. My mother must have put the hashish in the bag as she helped me pack as I was returning from holiday."
The man also pleaded to the judge to be lenient.
The convict will be deported after serving his jail term.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com