Dubai court fines man Dhs30,000 for driving under influence of psychotropic substances

 Dubai Misdemeanors Court fined a Gulf young man Dhs30,000 for driving his vehicle under the influence of psychotropic substances.

The accused was also banned from transferring or depositing money for two years, while his driving licence was suspended for six months.

The incident dated back to December last year when a patrol suspected a vehicle with only one number plate traveling in Al Mizhar area.

When the patrol tried to stop the vehicle, the driver fled and the patrol had to chase him until he was apprehended in Al Qusais area.

A police officer stated in the interrogations that the accused looked confused and unbalanced immediately after he was arrested and was suspected of being under the influence of narcotics.

The accused was searched personally, and so was the vehicle he was driving as a precautionary measure. Tablets, medical materials and tools suspected of being used for drug abuse were found in the vehicle including syringes with traces of blood and liquid materials. The seized items were transferred to Dubai Police’s forensic laboratory for test.

Forensic evidence reports revealed the presence of multiple psychotropic substances in his samples including amphetamine and methamphetamine, which are listed in the schedule of narcotic substances of the federal decree-law on combating narcotics and psychotropic substances and its amendments, in addition to psychotropic drugs that were taken in unauthorized ways.

The investigations revealed several charges against the accused including abusing psychotropic substances, driving under the influence of such substances, possessing substances for abuse, fleeing from police officers and committing a traffic violation by driving a vehicle with only one number plate.

During the interrogations and before the court, the accused confessed to the charges levelled to him and the court based its decision on the evidence seized, the forensic laboratory reports and his confession.