Man jailed as heroin he gave friend turns fatal

dubai — A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in jail for giving heroin to a friend, who later died because of an overdose.

The Emirati accused earlier admitted at the court that he possessed and took drugs but denied he gave it to his friend.

The friend’s body was found in a hotel room. The Court of First Instance found him guilty of facilitating drug use to others and ordered him to pay Dh20,000 fine.

Prosecution records show he admitted during the investigation that he and the deceased took drugs together. He reportedly told the investigators that he had given the deceased a heroin injection following which he fell unconscious. He claimed that he had to make a cut in his friend’s leg in a desperate attempt to save his life by releasing blood from his body. But his friend died shortly later in the hotel room.

A police officer said they acted based on a tip-off that the first defendant possessed and took drugs. “With a prosecution warrant, we arrested him at his home in Bur Dubai on February 28. A key in his possession was that of a hotel room where we found a dead body. It was that of his friend who was taking heroin with him,” the officer said.

Another accused, a 24-yearold Emirati, was sentenced to four years in jail on charges of possessing and taking drugs. He was apprehended at his place in Al Khawaneej. He confessed that he had used drugs but said that he had willingly turned himself in for rehabilitation in Abu Dhabi.

mary@khaleejtimes.com