Former US soldier, who imported drugs, wins appeal against 7-year jail term in Dubai

DUBAI// A former US soldier who was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempting to receive 592 tablets of Tramadol by courier has won an appeal against his jail term.

The soldier, J P, claimed he needed the drugs to control the pain caused by wounds he suffered in the First Gulf War.

He was arrested in March after a package addressed to him containing the pills arrived at customs.

His defence lawyer Saeed Al Ghilani told the Court of Appeal that the Criminal Court’s verdict should be overturned because J P did not order the tablets or receive them.

“He took part in the war in Kuwait and was wounded when a bomb exploded. He suffered severe injuries and was left with shrapnel in his body,” the lawyer said.

“He was prescribed Tramadol to control his great pain and then he decided to come to the UAE to look for a job.

“When here, he went to a hospital, which prescribed him pain killers but his pain was intolerable, so during a phone call he told his mother back in the US. She visited the health department in the US and got him nearly three months worth of supply.”

Mr Al Ghilani argued that according to UAE law his client could not be prosecuted for someone else’s crime.

“Although his mother did not do it knowing it was an illegal act in the UAE, nonetheless she did it. He did not order it and he did not receive it,” said Mr Al Ghilani.

He added that his client needed to take at least six tablets a day to keep his pain under control.

A custom’s inspector testified that the tablets were hidden in a professional way as they were covered with cotton inside medicine boxes.

“How can it be hidden if the pills are inside medicine boxes?” said Mr Al Ghilani. “They were not hidden, your honour, but were in their original packing, which came from the US.”

J P denied a charge of importing the tablets when he appeared at the Dubai Criminal Court last September.

He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail, fined Dh50,000 and ordered deportation once he completes his jail term.

On Sunday, the Appeal Court overturned the prison sentence and reduced the fine to Dh20,000, although he will still be deported.

salamir@thenational.ae