Dubai Court of Appeal upholds life sentence for drug smuggler

Dubai Court of Appeal upheld a verdict issued by the Court of First Instance sentencing an Asian drug smuggler to life in prison after being convicted of importing and possessing 5.3 kilograms of cocaine.

The case dates back to July 2022, when a customs inspector suspected the defendant while he was in the transit area coming from a South American country through a European country and stopping in Dubai.

The customs inspector reported that he noticed signs of stress and confusion on the defendant, who attempted to avoid inspection points and was carrying a suitcase that aroused his suspicions.

The inspector stated in the interrogations that he asked the defendant to examine the suitcase and inquired about why he was nervous. The defendant replied that the suitcase contained valuables belonging to someone else and he was afraid to pay the taxes due on them, he said.

The defendant indicated that he came from a South America country through a European airport and was waiting to board a flight home, he added.

The inspector said that after he placed the suitcase through an X-ray baggage scanner, he noticed that there was something abnormal inside. After inspecting the contents, he found cocaine and also found an additional quantity expertly hidden inside a plastic bag, the inspector said.

A report was filed accordingly and the defendant and the seized items were handed over to the police.

The report of the Forensic Chemistry Department at the General Department of Criminal Science and Criminology at Dubai Police confirmed that the seized items were white powder of cocaine weighing 5.3 kilograms, a narcotic substance listed in schedule no. 1 according to the federal decree law.

On interrogation, the defendant denied any knowledge of the drugs inside the suitcase, pleading that he had received them from an unknown person in South America to deliver them to another person in his home country for $500.

According to the court, death penalty should be legally prescribed for the crime charged against the defendant. According to judicial procedures, however, verdicts are issued by a majority vote of the court.

If unanimity is not achieved, the death penalty is replaced by life imprisonment. Due to the lack of unanimity among the judges, the Court of First Instance issued its life sentence and the Court of Appeal upheld the verdict.