‘Cannabis seeds smuggler’ did not know they were banned in UAE, Dubai court hears

DUBAI // A businessman accused of smuggling more than 13 kilograms of cannabis seeds confessed but told Dubai Criminal Court that he did not know they were banned in the UAE.

Iranian A Z, 55, was initially charged with smuggling and possessing 13.2kg of cannabis seeds on June 27 with the intent to supply to others but the court amended the charge to just smuggling and possessing, without the intent to supply.

Prosecutors said a customs inspector found the seeds in the businessman’s bag after it had passed through an X-ray.

“I suspected in a plastic bag inside his luggage that contained seeds and when I asked him about it he said it was food for birds and that if it was banned in Dubai, he didn’t know that,” said customs official A S, 27.

She added that he told her he brought the seeds to a friend in Dubai.

The next hearing will be on November 10.

salamir@thenational.ae

Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.