RAS AL KHAIMAH // A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for swallowing 127 heroin capsules in an attempt to smuggle them through a UAE airport.
The man, from an unnamed Asian country, will be deported following his sentence, handed down by Ras Al Khaimah Criminal Court, reported Aletihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National.
The suspect asked for help from authorities after he felt a sharp pain in his stomach and confessed to swallowing a lethal dose of the drug.
He was transported to hospital where an operation was performed to extract the capsules, which he swallowed while boarding the plane in his country, Aletihad said.
During investigations, the suspect admitted to smuggling drugs to the UAE to sell them.
newsdesk@thenational.ae