Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court on Sunday sentenced an African worker to 10 years in prison and fined him Dhs50,000 over attempting to export 3 kilogrammes of drugs stuffed inside children’s toys to a foreign country through a shipping company. The convict will be deported after serving the terms, the Court ordered.

The case dates back to last March, when the police was alerted about an issue in a shipping company.

A police team moved to the company’s place, where they came to know that an African man brought a parcel of toys to be shipped to a foreign country, but the weight of the toys was suspicious. It was heavier than normal, the police were told. The African man brought the box and left, and the matter was discovered later.

The company’s employee had to open a toy and he was surprised by finding it stuffed with small packets containing white powder, so he called the police immediately.

The 11 toys that were brought by the convict were found containing nearly three kilogrammes of narcotics.

Accordingly, the toys were seized and the convict had been identified via footage of the surveillance cameras installed in the company.

In another development, the Criminal Court in Dubai on Sunday sentenced an Asian visitor to 10 years in jail and fined him Dhs50,000 over attempting to smuggle 8.4 kilogrammes of narcotics through one airport in the country.

The convict will be deported from the country after serving the terms.

The case dates back to last January, when a customs officer suspected the baggage of one traveller.

Upon inspecting the suspected bags, marijuana was found hidden in a bag belonging to the convict.

The latter confessed to bringing the seized narcotics for peddling purposes.

Separately, the Criminal Court in Dubai on Sunday sentenced two Africans to one year in jail each to be followed by deportation over committing a robbery on a street.

The case dates back to last September, when two Africans snatched a handbag from an Asian woman after muzzling her mouth and crippling her movement.

They ran away seizing the bag that reportedly contained Dhs1,400 and a debit card. They police through the search and investigation were able to identify the convicts, who were arrested and confessed to the crime.