A man has been given a ten-year prison sentence for smuggling heroin into the UAE. AFP
A man has been given a ten-year prison sentence for smuggling heroin into the UAE. AFP

UAE

Drug mule who swallowed 61 capsules of heroin is jailed

Man agreed to smuggle drugs in exchange for an employment visa

Salam Al Amir
Salam Al Amir

October 22, 2018

A drug mule who swallowed 61 capsules of heroin to smuggle into the UAE after being lured by the promise of an employment visa has been handed a 10-year jail term.

The Pakistani man ingested more than 700 grams of the illicit drug before flying into Dubai from his native country, Dubai Criminal Court heard.

But the 29-year-old's plan was foiled after suspicious objects were spotted in his stomach as he passed through an X-ray at Dubai International Airport on May 8 of this year.

Police were alerted and the offender admitted smuggling the heroin on behalf of a man in the UAE who he said pledged to reward him with a work visa.

The man initially denied the smuggling charge at a previous hearing at Dubai Criminal Court in July, insisting the drugs were for his own use.

He has now been convicted of drug smuggling and given a 10-year prison sentence.

He will be deported after completing the jail term.

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