A visitor has been accused of smuggling 12kg of hashish, which he thought was mixed nuts, for selling, heard a court on Wednesday.
A customs inspector asked the Iranian visitor, 25, when he arrived at Rashid Port to put his luggage on the scanning device in July. When the scanning device showed a thick base, the inspector opened the bag and found inside it 12 pieces of hashish stacked in the bottom. The visitor was remanded and referred to the Dubai Police’s antinarcotics department for further inquiries.
Prosecutors accused the Iranian suspect of smuggling and possessing around 12kg of hashish for selling and smuggling and possessing 6 Prazolam capsules for his personal use.
The suspect pleaded not guilty and denied the charges of possessing hashish to sell when he showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday.
“I did bring those substances with me but I did not know that it contained drugs … the person who gave it to me said it was mixed nuts. As for the capsules, I brought them for medical purposes,” he contended before presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi.
According to the charges, prosecutors did not charge the suspect of consuming drugs due to jurisdictional purposes. The suspect had told prosecutors that he consumed banned substances in Iran.
The customs inspector told prosecutors that he suspected the Iranian’s luggage once he arrived at Rashid Port.
“After placing his bag on the scanning device, I saw it was unusually thick. Upon opening the bag and searching the bottom, I found eight pieces of hashish. Meanwhile my co-worker found four pieces hidden in a plastic box that he was carrying with him,” the inspector told prosecutors.
Presiding judge Al Shamsi said the court will appoint a lawyer to defend the suspect when it reconvenes on November 28.
SOURCE : GULFNEWS