Duo jailed for life for peddling cannabis

abu dhabi — A 28-year-old British woman was handed a life sentence for smuggling manufactured cannabis from the UK with the intent of promoting drugs in the UAE.

The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of First Instance pronounced the sentence to the Briton after she was found guilty of smuggling and dealing with drugs.

Her accomplice, a 24-year-old Emirati man, was also given a life sentence for aiding and abetting the British woman by providing her with cash and information and directing her to sources in the UK where she could buy the drugs. The man was also sentenced to another two years for possessing and using drugs.

The case involved six other people who were also charged with smuggling and peddling drugs.

Official court records stated that on April 8, 2016, the police arrested the eight defendants after it received information that they dealt with drugs.

During interrogation by the police and public prosecution, the British woman, the main defendant in the case, admitted to charges of smuggling and dealing with drugs. She said she had smuggled drugs from the UK through Abu Dhabi airport four times before she was arrested. The woman noted that she was working with the Emirati defendant whom she was introduced to through her husband.

Prosecutors said that all defendants had admitted to charges during interrogations but they denied the accusations when they appeared in court. The court, however, convicted them based on evidence presented by prosecutors.

Three other defendants, including a 26-year-old British national, a 21-year-old Jordanian, and a 25-year-old Somali woman were given two years in jail each for possessing and using narcotics.

The trio was, however, cleared of possessing drugs for purposes of sell. Two British nationals, both aged 27, also charged in the case, were cleared of all the allegations after court found them innocent.

Awatif Mohammed from Al Rowad Advocates, who represented one of the acquitted Brits, had argued that the evidence submitted by prosecutors against her client was baseless. “My client, who stayed in the same hotel, was merely visiting the other defendants in their hotel room when police raided the place,” he said.

The eighth defendant, a 26-year-old Moroccan woman, was referred to the court of misdemeanours to face a charge of consuming Pregabalin. All those convicted will be deported after serving their jail sentences.