DUBAI // Those who are abusing controlled medications identified as mind-altering substances will be tracked down and brought to justice, officials said today.
Chief Prosecutor Waleed Ali Khalifa al Fuqaie, head of Drugs Prosecution at Dubai Public Prosecution, said in a news conference this morning that the nine-member prosecution team has investigated 44 such cases so far this year.
Ten were referred to court and four resulted in convictions, he said.
“In the four cases, the defendants, a stateless, Yemeni, Iranian and an Emirati, were all handed one-year sentences each for using Tramadol,” he said.
Controlled medications are only given to people with a signed and stamped prescription from a specialized doctor. That category of drugs includes pain killers, anticholinergics and anti-depressants, Mr al Fuqaie said.
He stressed that many of those who are addicted to such substances think there will not be legal action against them because the substances are not banned.
“They are mistaken,” he said.
The prosecution does not refer any suspect before ensuring he or she does not possess a prescription, Mr al Fuqaie added. He said suppliers were mostly unemployed, and no doctors or pharmacists had been involved in any of the cases.
Last year, 752 drug related cases were referred to court, of which 281 involved consumption.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
