A Filipino couple has been imprisoned for consuming and promoting the drug methamphetamine.
Drug enforcement officers apprehended the 48-year-old Filipino salesman after they stopped his car in Al Baraha area and seized a tiny quantity of methamphetamine from him in May, reported Gulf News.
His 28-year-old countrywoman was also arrested, the report said.
The Dubai Court of First Instance reportedly convicted the couple. Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said the defendants will be deported after serving their jail terms.
Records were quoted as saying that the man possessed four tiny plastic sacks containing 1.71gm of methamphetamine while the woman possessed 0.24gm.
“I possessed the methamphetamine for my personal consumption … it was not for promotion,” the salesman reportedly argued in court.
The woman confessed that she had consumed the banned substance and told the presiding judge that she possessed methamphetamine for consumption, not for promotion, said the news portal.
An anti-narcotics police lieutenant said they apprehended the male defendant following an informant’s tip-off that he had been promoting drugs in Al Baraha.
“A police squad headed to the location and once they spotted the defendant in his Mercedes car, they stopped him. Upon searching the car, we found a white bag from which we seized four small sacks that contained methamphetamine. We also found some cash under the gas pedal. When asked about the money, the defendant claimed that it was to pay for renewing his driving licence. When asked about the banned substances, he claimed that a person named Raj gave it to him in Ajman … and that he sold it among drug users in Dubai. He was taken into custody and referred to the anti-narcotics department for a drug test. Meanwhile, another police team headed to Ajman to apprehend the so-called Raj, but he was not present,” the lieutenant reportedly testified.
The salesman tested positive for methamphetamine, reported Gulf News.
The defendants were said to have admitted to prosecutors that they possessed and consumed methamphetamine.
Tuesday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days, the report said.
