Woman found with 1.5kg of cocaine at Dubai airport

A customs officer said the drugs were hidden inside the UAE resident’s luggage

A Nigerian woman accused of smuggling cocaine into Dubai has appeared in court in the emirate.

A Nigerian woman found with more than 1.5 kilograms of cocaine in her bag at Dubai International Airport has admitted trying to smuggle drugs.

Judges at Dubai Criminal Court were told a customs officer became suspicious because the woman’s bag looked extremely heavy.

“I asked her for the passport and if she wanted to declare anything but she said no,” the customs inspector said.

“When I began searching her bag she became tense and was shaking, so I knew she was carrying something illegal.”

The UAE resident, who works as a saleswoman, was detained at about 5am on April 15 after arriving at the airport’s terminal 3.

The customs officer said she searched the woman’s luggage and found a hidden zip at the bottom. She found wooden planks inside, in which the drugs were concealed.

The defendant, 40, admitted she was trying to smuggle the drugs to sell in Dubai.

A sentence will be passed on September 12.