Egyptian gets five years for marijuana

An Egyptian was sentenced to five years in prison and fined Dh20,000 yesterday after being found guilty of smoking marijuana.

DUBAI // An Egyptian was sentenced to five years in prison and fined Dh20,000 (US$5,440) yesterday after being found guilty of smoking marijuana. His wife, 36-year-old FH, was acquitted of smoking the drug and smuggling it into the country. The husband JF, aged 46, was also found guilty of supplying two marijuana cigarettes to another person, who is not in custody. Investigators told the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance that the couple smuggled 39g of marijuana from Egypt last May. The wife admitted she passed security checks at Dubai International Airport by stuffing the drugs in her underwear, the investigators said.

An officer with Dubai Anti-Narcotics Division told prosecutors it received information on JF and searched his house in Ajman. The marijuana was found with smoking paraphernalia in a bedroom. Upon his arrest, JF allegedly told detectives he consumed marijuana that was brought to him from Egypt by his wife. In court, though, he said he consumed the drug in Egypt and not in the UAE. [e-mail]