Dubai housemaid and drivers caught with 3kg of heroin jailed

DUBAI // A housemaid and two drivers were each jailed for 10 years on Tuesday for having more than three kilograms of heroin in their possession.

They said they were shipping it to Kuwait, not selling it.

Drivers M S, 40, and A D, 34, and housemaid F S, 32, were arrested in June after police received a tip-off and found the drugs in A D’s lorry.

Police officer A L said the three Sri Lankans confessed to possessing 3.2kg of heroin.

Police also found 1,000 Kuwaiti dinars (Dh12,088), scales and plastic bags in the maid’s home in Sharjah.

The officer said F S told him she knowingly gave the drugs to the drivers.

“She also told me she was in contact with a man from outside the country who was directing her where to go and to whom to give the drugs,” he said.

At the Dubai Criminal Court last month, the men confessed to possession of drugs but denied they wanted to sell it, while F S denied the charge.

Yesterday the trio were also fined Dh50,000 each and will be deported after they have served their sentences.

They have 15 days to appeal against the sentence.

salamir@thenational.ae

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Explainer: Tanween Design Programme

Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.

The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.

It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.

The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.

Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”