Bag from 'uncle' lands wanted Pakistani in Dubai jail, loses appeal

A wanted drug smuggler, who was caught with more than 1.3kg of cocaine at a Dubai airport, lost his appeal against a 10-year prison sentence on Wednesday.
The Pakistani man was a transit passenger en route to Thailand, and during his stop at the Dubai International Airport on September 22, 2018, officers found cocaine in his bag.
Prosecutors accused him of trying to smuggle drugs. Investigations showed that he had a criminal record of drug smuggling and he had fled the UAE when one of his accomplices died after trying to transport capsules in his stomach.
In December 2018, the Court of First Instance sentenced him to 10 years in jail and ordered his deportation upon paying a Dh50,000 fine.
The Court of Appeals upheld the primary ruling on Wednesday.
A customs inspector said the transit passenger was brought to them by the anti-narcotics officers at Terminal 3. "He was carrying a bag with a suspicious volume on the side, and he denied having anything to declare.
"The traveller said the bag belonged to him but denied having anything to do with what was inside it. He claimed his cousin in Pakistan wanted him to deliver the bag to his uncle in Thailand," the inspector said.
The officer questioned the defendant's statement, saying that "the bag was empty and still had a side volume and he could have noticed that".
They later learned from anti-narcotics officers that the defendant was already on the police's wanted list and had a track record of smuggling drugs.
"We learned that he would smuggle drugs to the UAE and other countries. He had fled after one of his accomplices died due to complications from smuggling drugs in his stomach," the officer told the investigator.
The defendant may contest the new ruling within 30 days at the Court of Cassation.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai