DUBAI // Two men who were found with more than two million methamphetamine tablets that were smuggled into the country in wooden chandeliers have been sentenced to seven years in jail.
Prosecutors said Syrians AA, 44, and MJ, 32, hid 2,041,583 pills in the chandeliers stored in an Umm Al Quwain warehouse with the intention of selling the drugs.
A policeman said officers were tipped off in January that AA had received a shipment of drugs and arrested him and MJ near Dubai Festival City.
“We stopped the car and told them we are anti-narcotics agents and we have a search warrant,” the officer said.
MJ, who was driving, tried to escape and crashed into a police car before both men were arrested.
“We found keys and Dh13,800 on AA when we searched him,” the policeman said. “He told us that the keys were for a warehouse in the industrial area in UAQ, where they stored wooden chandeliers.”
Another officer said: “M J rented the warehouse under his name and AA rented a lorry to transfer the drugs from Dubai airport to the warehouse.”
The court heard AA agreed to receive the drugs shipment from Turkey for Dh250,000.
On Sunday at the Dubai Criminal Court, the pair were found guilty and fined Dh50,000 each. They will be deported after completing their prison sentences.
tzriqat@thenational.ae
