Photo has been used for illustrative purpose.

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced an African man to 10 years in prison and fined him Dhs50,000, in addition he would be deported after serving the terms for attempting to smuggle amount of drugs into the country.

The court heard that the convict had been caught by the authorities at the Dubai International Airport after the customs officer detected his attempt to pass 300 grammes of drugs inside a banana box.

This dates back to last September, when a customs officer at Dubai International Airport suspected a box belonging to an African visitor. Upon checking the box, packages suspected to be banned items were seized and transferred to the Criminal Laboratory, which confirmed that they contained drugs.

The visitor claimed that he had brought those items from his home to one of his friends in the country as a gift, and denied his knowledge that they are prohibited in the UAE. The Court found him guilty, so he was sentenced to the aforementioned penalty.

GAMBLING DEN UNEARTHED: A Dubai Police officer uncovered an Asian gang of 7 suspects who ran a gambling den inside a clothing store in the Al Fahidi area of Dubai.

The suspects were arrested and interrogated to be referred to court where four of them were sentenced in person and three in absentia to be jailed, to be followed by deportation after serving their sentences, and fined them jointly Dhs100,000.

The details of the case date back to October 2021, when a policeman uncovered a gambling den run by two Asians inside a clothing store.

According to the policeman statement in the interrogations, while walking around the area of jurisdiction of the Al Raffa police, he noticed Asians through a glass window of a clothing store, writing some numbers and exchanging money, and then playing through computers inside the store.

The policeman added that he asked the store manager to enter the place, and the latter allowed him thinking he was an Asian who wanted to gamble.

The policeman added that after entering the place, he made sure that the people inside were violating the laws of the UAE, so they were arrested.

The manager of the den confessed that he connived with two others to organise gambling in return for Dhs3,000. Another suspect confessed that he received Dhs2,000 for communicating with people in his home country wishing to gamble in the den prepared by the store owner, conniving with another.