DUBAI // A worker who was sentenced to 10 years in jail for bringing 3.6 kilograms of marijuana in his luggage into Dubai will have to see out his sentence.
The Bangladeshi, 35, was convicted of a drug possession charge. He had denied it in both criminal and appeal courts, claiming that he knew nothing about the drugs and that he had been given gifts by people to be delivered to family in Dubai.
“A man back home brought it to me in wraps and I didn’t see what was inside it,” the defendant said in court.
He was stopped at Dubai International Airport on November 11 last year after his flight arrived from Pakistan.
A Customs inspector scanned the luggage and found a suspicious bulge. He said that once the bag was opened, the defendant became tense.
“We found marijuana in 54 wraps in the bottom of his bag. It was wrapped like it was candy,” said the inspector.
The worker was fined Dh50,000 and will be deported after the appeal court upheld his sentence.
salamir@thenational.ae
Community Shield info
Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)
Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte
Referee Bobby Madley
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
