ABU DHABI // Three airline passengers convicted of drug trafficking were accused after cabin crew suspected they owned a bag containing narcotics, the Appeals Court has heard.
P, C and O, from Nigeria, who were sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Criminal Court, were in the transit lounge at Abu Dhabi airport while travelling from Brazil to Nigeria when the Etihad flight’s cabin crew found a black bag in the upper lockers of the aircraft.
The bag, which did not have a tag to identify its owner, was found to contain drugs. Court papers did not reveal the type or quantity of the drugs recovered.
Their lawyer, Hamed Al Minhali, said the cabin crew and pilot told police that it could belong to the Nigerian passengers.
CID agents arrested the men in the transit lounge, but Mr Al Minhali said that was a procedural breach because police did not have an arrest warrant. He said the defendants possess the bag at that time.
At first they denied that the bag belonged to them, but after pressure from police one of the three men confessed, he said.
“The entire plane is monitored, how come no one noticed when they got up to dispose of the drugs and hide them in the bag?” Mr Al Minhali said.
He said his clients did not have any intention to enter the UAE.
P and C asked for the case be adjourned until a representative from the Nigerian or Brazilian embassies was present.
The Appeals Court will announce its verdict on June 23.
hdajani@thenational.ae
