‘Sick woman smuggled drugs for her treatment’

sharjah — A 57-year-old Pakistani woman accused of smuggling drugs to the UAE told a Sharjah court that she committed the crime unknowingly to get money for her cancer treatment.

The woman said she was diagnosed with cancer and was desperate to get treatment. A drug trafficker in her home country offered money if she carried some medicines to Sharjah, she told the court, adding that the man also arranged the visa and ticket.

She appeared so sick and weak that she could hardly stand in the court. The woman could not stop crying while she pointed to her left arm, which was stiff.

Earlier, the court had adjourned hearing in the case three times as the first lawyer, who was appointed by the Ministry of Justice, did not show up. A new lawyer replaced him, who attended the case on Sunday. She told the court that drug traffickers exploited the woman’s sickness, helplessness and ignorance about drugs. She also requested to get proper treatment for the defendant.

The woman was arrested at the Sharjah International Airport after reaching there on a Pakistani airline. She was looking exhausted, which rose the suspicion of the officials. Initially, they could not find anything in her luggage, but a thorough search revealed that drugs were hidden inside women’s accessories made of beads, said a customs official.

She told the investigators that the person who assigned her to carry the drugs asked her to give it to somebody living in Dubai, but she don’t know who it is.

“I agreed to do that because I am so sick and do not have enough money to pay for medical treatment. I can’t even sleep due to severe pain,” an investigator quoted the suspect as saying.

The court adjourned the case to November 10.

amira@khaleejtimes.com