DUBAI // Two brothers smashed a bottle over the head of a policeman as they were being arrested for trying to smuggle more than Dh100,000 worth of alcohol from Dubai to Saudi Arabia, a court heard yesterday.
WS, 27, and WS, 29, from Syria, were charged with the illegal possession of alcoholic drinks with intent to distribute.
The men, who pleaded not guilty, also were charged with assaulting a public official on duty. Prosecutors said the two attacked the officers who attempted to arrest them during a sting operation. One of the arresting officers was hit over the head with a glass bottle and left with permanent scarring.
According to public prosecution records, the brothers, who ran a trucking business, offered a man Dh50,000 to take a truck carrying 7,560 bottles of alcohol from Dubai to Saudi Arabia. The drink was due to be smuggled on May 15.
The man alerted police, claiming the brothers had offered him a driving job for Dh3,000 per trip and asked if he were interested in participating in a smuggling operation.
CID officers from Rashidiya Police Station set up a sting operation and told the informant to drive the lorry full of alcohol to a meeting with the defendants in the Nad Al Hamar district near Ras Al Khor.
When the brothers arrived, records show, police officers emerged and showed their badges. "They attempted to escape when we presented ourselves," said one of the arresting officers. "We saw them attack the sergeant with a glass bottle, breaking it on his head."
Proceedings will continue on August 24.
In a separate alcohol-related case, a Mali man facing charges of illegally possessing more than 1,500 bottles of alcohol claims he was merely at a friend's flat to watch the World Cup.
The defendant, OM, 40, was charged, along with two Ugandan men and a Nigerian, with illegal possession of alcohol with intent to distribute.
OM told the court that when police raided the flat, which doubled as an alcohol store, he was there to watch a football match.
The men, who appeared before the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours, pleaded not guilty to possessing 1,497 beers and 113 bottles of spirits. The men also were charged with illegally residing in the country.
The arrests came after police raided the flat in the Al Baraha district of Deira on June 13. An officer told prosecutors he became suspicious of a Ugandan man carrying a large plastic bag near his patrol car.
"He looked anxious and nervous when he saw me, so I stopped him and asked what was inside the bag," said the officer.
"When he opened it, I found bottles of alcohol," he told prosecutors. "I found more bottles inside his car. When I questioned him, he told me he and the other defendants were trading in alcohol and had a store in their flat."
The officer called for assistance and raided the flat, where they found the other three defendants watching the football.
In his defence, OM told prosecutors he had a deal with the African woman who owned the flat.
"I pay the owner of the flat for my meals. On that day I had gone there to watch a Ghana match against Serbia when police arrived," prosecutors said he told them.
He told the court the African woman left the flat before the police raid and said, while he knew the others were trading in alcohol, he had no participation.
The court will issue its verdict next week.
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Based: Dubai, UAE
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Dos
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Don’ts
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Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
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Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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