Drugs mule given seven year jail term

A drugs mule who swallowed nearly half a kilogram of methamphetamine before jumping into a marina in Dubai has been sentenced to seven years in jail.

Dubai Criminal Court heard how the Nigerian defendant, 29, panicked when he began feeling unwell soon after flying into the Emirates last year.

Members of the public reported him to police after witnessing him acting strangely in Festival marina in Dubai Creek.

Officers dispatched a boat to the scene to pull him from the water, although he initially refused to get out.

“We received a call about a man behaving strangely and jumping into the water,” a port authority policeman told the court. “We were told he was refusing to get out.”

The incident unfolded on November 4 shortly after the man arrived at Dubai International Airport from Nigeria.

After leaving the terminal, the defendant made his way into the centre of the city where he began suffering severe abdominal pain.

After he leapt into a marina, officers took him to a police station for questioning.

There he admitted swallowing 28 capsules - 468 grams - of methamphetamine with the intention of selling the drug on.

Appearing in court last month, the defendant denied a charge of smuggling banned substances into the country.

But on Thursday he was found guilty of drug smuggling, fined Dh50,000 and ordered to be deported after completing his sentence.