Death sentence for men who stored 53kg of hashish in Dubai apartment

ABU DHABI // Three drug smugglers who stored 53 kilograms of hashish in a Dubai apartment have been sentenced to death by the Criminal Court.

The three men were involved in a ring that smuggled hashish from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia through the UAE and were caught in a sting operation mounted by both Emirati and Pakistani authorities.

Police tried to arrest the three Asians after one of them did a deal with an undercover officer to transfer the drugs to Saudi Arabia in exchange for Dh2,000 per kilo.

However, only two of the men were caught - the third, who was sentenced in absentia, remains on the run. Police found the hashish hidden in five barrels inside a rented apartment in Dubai.

The two men confessed under police interrogation to smuggling the hashish with the help of the third man.

hdajani@thenational.ae