THREE GET LIFE SENTENCE FOR SMUGGLING DRUGS

DUBAI - Three Iranian sailors were yesterday sentenced to life in prison by
the Dubai Court of First Instance for trafficking, possession and trading
in narcotic substances.

The defendants were among six Iranian sailors arrested in a raid on a dhow
berthed along the Dubai Creek in January, which netted 45.4kg of hashish.

The court convicted A. Z. M., 27; J. K. M., 37; and A. A. N., 44; but found
both H. H. S., the captain of the dhow, and S. K. M., another accused, not
guilty on drugs charges. The court referred the case of A. A. M., one of
the arrested sailors, to the juveniles court.

The case dates to January 2, when police learned that an Iranian man was
trying to sell 43kg of hashish.

The man was contacted by an undercover police officer posing as a
businessman. The officer met A. Z. M. at a five star hotel at 6.30pm the
same day to agree on the price for the drugs. The defendant gave the
officer a sample of the drugs to test. After making sure the sample was
authentic, the undercover officer then agreed to buy the drugs for Dh7,000
per kilogram instead of the Dh8,000 the defendant was asking for. The
defendant agreed but insisted the exchange be held the next morning.

The next morning at 9.30am, the defendant and undercover officer met at the
hotel to exchange the drugs and cash.

The undercover officer gave the defendant Dh301,000 and the defendant gave
him the hashish, at that point the defendant was arrested by the other
members of the operation.

The defendant told police that he got the drugs from a dhow berthed along
the creek and that the drugs had been brought from Iran.