A man has been jailed for life by the Dubai Criminal Court after being convicted of trafficking and illegal possession of psychotropic substances. A life sentence in the UAE is usually 25 years.

The man was fined an additional 200,000 dirhams and will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

The 47-year-old Malaysian national was arrested by Dubai Customs after they seized two shipments concealing substantial amounts of ketamine.

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The case dates back to December 15, 2023, when airport authorities became suspicious of a shipment from Belgium. Upon inspection, they found 2,892g of white powder hidden in a water filter.

A second shipment later arrived from South Africa on 28 February 2024, this time as a package labeled as “Coffee, Chocolate and Sweets”. Inspections revealed approximately 3,638g of white powder hidden under brown powder in four plastic containers.

Forensic analysis confirmed the substance to be ketamine.

On March 19, 2024, the defendant arrived at the Aramex Al Zahra branch in Dubai to pick up the second shipment. He was detained by the customs officers who were stalking him.

During questioning, the man produced a Singaporean passport, which officers suspected was fake. After further questioning, he admitted that the passport was fake and later produced a copy of a Malaysian passport.

While the defendant denied involvement in drug trafficking during court hearings, customs officials presented witness statements and forensic evidence. The judges then sentenced the man to life imprisonment and also fined him Dh200,000.

A staff reporter

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