Man jailed for 3 years and fined Dhs100,000 for helping drug dealers

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter
Dubai Criminal Court jailed an Asian for 3 years, to be followed by deportation after serving his sentence, and fined him Dhs100,000.
It also ruled that he be prohibited from transferring or depositing money to others, personally or through others, except with permission from the relevant authorities for a period of two years after the end of his jail sentence, because he was charged with making deposits and transferring money with the intention of committing crimes of trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances through his bank account.
The case took place between February and March 2022, when documented information was received by the concerned bodies alerting that an Asian drug gang has been using a bank account belonging to one of its members to deposit and transfer money obtained from drug consumers.
A policeman testified in interrogations that he received a WhatsApp message from an international number promoting drugs, so a trap was set to arrest the gang members.
He said that he agreed with the drug dealer via WhatsApp on the price of the drugs, and later, the promoter asked him to transfer the amount to the suspect’s account number.
The policeman added that it was found that 213 deposits and withdrawals were made through an ATM with the amount of Dhs110,000 in only 9 days.
Based on the information, a permit was obtained from the Public Prosecution to freeze the bank account in coordination with the UAE Central Bank, and a circular was issued on its owner, who was arrested while attempting to leave the UAE.
On being interrogated, he denied his connection to the gang, claiming that he worked in a recruitment company and four months ago, he met an Asian national who he did not know before.
The Asian allegedly asked him to open a bank account in return for Dhs300, a flight ticket, and housing for him in his home country. He then accepted the offer and opened the account electronically.
The suspect also denied knowing that Asian was abusing the account for drug trafficking.
The court said that it did not believe the suspect’s denial of the crime because it was only a means of escaping punishment, and so it issued its previous ruling.