Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment in Dubai after being convicted of smuggling a large quantity of a controlled substance. The court also imposed fines of Dh200,000 on each and ordered their deportation after serving their sentences.
Case Details
The incident dates back to March 29, 2024, when customs officials at Dubai Airport intercepted a shipment arriving from India. During routine inspections, a senior customs inspector flagged four suspicious cartons. Upon an X-ray scan and further manual inspection, the cartons were found to contain 148,380 capsules of Nervigesic, weighing 71.52 kilograms of Pregabalin, a regulated psychotropic substance under UAE law.
Dubai Police’s General Department of Anti-Narcotics was alerted, leading to a detailed investigation.
Investigation Findings
The investigation revealed that one of the defendants, an Indian national, had coordinated the shipment with a Pakistani accomplice who had arranged for the drugs to be sent from abroad. The Indian defendant had instructed a shipping company representative to clear the shipment.
The shipping representative, also an Indian national, was initially detained but was later acquitted after the court determined that he had acted in good faith and was unaware of the shipment’s true contents.
Court Ruling
Both the Indian and Pakistani defendants were charged with smuggling and possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute. Despite denying the charges, the court found sufficient evidence, including communications between the two defendants discussing the shipment and its clearance process.
The court sentenced the pair to life imprisonment, fined them Dh200,000 each, and ordered a two-year ban on financial transactions without prior approval from the UAE Central Bank and Ministry of Interior.
Appeal Filed
The defendants have appealed the verdict, and the Dubai Court of Appeal is set to hear the case on January 15, 2025.
