Britons posted drugs to their company in UAE, Dubai court hears

DUBAI // Two British expatriates are accused of importing hallucinogenic drugs and marijuana into the UAE for personal use.

Both defendants denied the charges when they appeared at Dubai Criminal Court on Sunday.

“It’s not true,” said M R, 24, when confronted with a charge of importing 7.43 grams of the hallucinogen.

The second defendant, A S, 33, denied a charge of importing 4.94g of marijuana.

Prosecutors told the court the men arranged for the banned substances to be delivered to the address of the company where they worked. “We received a tip about them after which we visited their workplace, but they were not present,” said Emirati policeman K A, 24.

He said that on May 25 this year, police checked mail delivered in the men’s names before contacting them to collect the packages. “They did not come but instead sent a man on their behalf. We questioned him and he did not know anything about the contents of the packages. Then, with his help, we arrested the defendants,” K A said.

He said that M R and A S denied knowing the packages contained banned substances and also denied sending someone to pick them up.

The court denied a bail request submitted by the men’s lawyers. The next hearing is October 4.