DUBAI: A Dubai court jailed a Pakistani for 15 years for smuggling heroin concealed in bags containing copies of the Quran, prayer mats and other religious paraphernalia, a report said Wednesday.

The 30-year-old man, identified only by his initials M.T., was convicted for possessing 24 kilogrammes of heroin that was stashed in five bags with hidden compartments, the Gulf News daily said.

“When we opened the bags, we found prayer mats, rosary beads and copies of the Quran along with food and the drugs,” a Dubai International Airport customs inspector was quoted as saying.

The defendant was fined 200,000 dirhams ($54,500) and will be deported after serving his sentence, the report said. He has 15 days to appeal the ruling by the Dubai court of first instance.

Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, has strict drug laws. Trafficking in illegal narcotics is punishable by death, although the sentences are often commuted to life imprisonment.

Drug possession without the intent to “promote” the narcotics carries lighter penalties.

Opinion

Editorial

From gains to gaps
27 Apr, 2025

From gains to gaps

AS we mark World Immunisation Week 2025 — themed ‘Immunisation for All is Humanly Possible’ — we are faced...
Crisis talks
Updated 27 Apr, 2025

Crisis talks

Sense needs to be restored so that the Pahalgam attack may be independently investigated and the victims given justice.
BYC women in jail
27 Apr, 2025

BYC women in jail

THE detained Baloch Yakjehti Committee leader Mahrang Baloch and other BYC activists, including women, are reported...
Time for restraint
Updated 26 Apr, 2025

Time for restraint

Neither Pakistan nor India can afford another war. It is time again to give diplomacy a chance.
A wise decision
Updated 26 Apr, 2025

A wise decision

GOOD sense seems to have finally prevailed, with the federal government deferring the planned canal projects,...
‘Fake’ Pakistanis
26 Apr, 2025

‘Fake’ Pakistanis

THE revelation is shocking. Hundreds of individuals holding Pakistani passports who were detained by the Saudi...