Dubai: Tourist saved from paying Dh1-million fine for carrying psychotropic drugs

An Indian visitor was saved from deportation and having to pay a Dh1-million fine after he argued in court that the 260 pregabalin capsules he was accused of smuggling were his ailing parents’ medications.

He was initially convicted of smuggling and possessing the psychotropic substances, but the Dubai Appeal Court heard his argument and confirmed a lenient punishment. The accused was ordered to pay a Dh5,000 fine — not Dh1 million, which the prosecutors were pushing for. No deportation order was added.

The visitor's lawyer Hani Hammouda Hagag argued before the appellate court that his client "had no criminal intent" and “brought the pills for the treatment of his sick parents who have been living in the UAE since the '70s”.

“My client did not smuggle or possess the seized capsules for his personal usage, but he got them as a medication when he came to visit his parents who are already listed as patients under Dubai’s health authorities and have been given prescriptions to use those pills for their diseases,” the lawyer told the court.

The lawyer also presented proofs of the parents’ diagnosis and medical prescriptions to corroborate his claims that those pills were meant for treatment.

Hagag added that when his client produced the prescriptions and written permission to bring the pills for his sick parents, the customs officer didn’t check the documents out “thoroughly”.

The defendant was apprehended at Dubai airport back in June as soon as he arrived and the 260 pills were confiscated.

In the arraignment sheet, prosecutors charged the defendant for smuggling and illegally possessing nearly 70g of mind-altering substances.

The Dubai Misdemeanours Court found the accused guilty, and the judge fined the accused Dh5,000, citing leniency.

The defendant appealed the primary judgement and sought to clear his name in the Appeal Court.

Dubai prosecutors also appealed the judgement and asked the higher court to issue a stiffer punishment so that his conviction could serve as lesson for others. They demanded that the defendant be fined Dh1 million.

Hagag reiterated that the defendant didn't have any criminal intent. "The defence have submitted all the medical reports, prescriptions and written proof corroborating that those medicines were meant for the parents who are suffering from kidney failure, blood pressure, and other chronic diseases,” he said.

“The accused does not live in the UAE. He came on a visit and the medications for his parents after obtaining a written authorisation issued from the health authorities,” argued Hagag.

The appeal court dismissed the prosecutors’ appeal and upheld the Dh5,000 fine against the defendant without adding a deportation order.

can confirm that the defendant has returned to India.