10 years in jail for man in possession of more than 3kg of heroin

Pakistani man claimed he did not know the content of the bag he was carrying

A 21-year-old man has been convicted of carrying more than three kilograms of heroin that he planned to smuggle into Saudi Arabia. 
Dubai Criminal Court sentenced the Pakistani defendant on Sunday to 10 years in jail and fined him Dh50,000 after amending his charge from possessing drugs to sell to a charge of possessing drugs without a purpose. 
He admitted the charge but said he did not know he was carrying drugs. "I had no idea what was the nature of the things I was carrying and I didn't even ask what it was because I didn't imagine it would be something legal," he said in court, adding that a compatriot asked him to pick up a small bag from a friend and hand it to him Dubai.
The man was apprehended with 3.348kg of heroin on June 30 after a tip-off to police.
"We received information about the defendant looking for a driver to carry the drugs to KSA. We arrested him in Ras Al Khor, and he was carrying a backpack that contained drugs," testified a policeman, 38.
The officer added that police raided the man's apartment in Sharjah and found more drugs, which the defendant said he got from a man in Ajman. 
"He told us he doesn't know the man's name or address as he met him only once to take the drugs, which he was to hand to a compatriot in Dubai. We showed him pictures of some suspects and he identified his countryman and we are looking for him," the officer said.
The defendant will be deported after serving his jail term.