Prison guard jailed for drug dealing

DUBAI // A Dubai Police prison guard has been sentenced to three years in jail for taking a Dh6,000 (US$1,600) bribe to smuggle hashish to an inmate. AS, 25, was arrested in September in front of the Mercato Mall in Jumeirah after an investigation by the UAE state security agency. A major from the economic crimes division testified to prosecutors that he had received a tip-off from the Central Jail that the policeman had offered to smuggle drugs to an inmate who had been imprisoned on drugs charges.

The prisoner, KJ, told prosecutors that he regularly visited AS to collect his prescribed drugs. On one occasion, KJ said, AS had offered him marijuana. "He asked me if I wanted to amuse myself just before the Eid holidays," KJ told prosecutors. "He said he could provide me with hashish. I asked him to give me one day to decide." The prisoner then informed the Central Jail director, Major Abdel Hakim Ahmed, who referred the case to the police.

Investigators told the prisoner to go ahead and make a deal with AS. The guard then asked for Dh6,000 for one gram of hashish, to which the prisoner agreed, according to court documents. KJ phoned AS and told him he would arrange for the money to be handed over by a third person, outside jail. AS was arrested as he attempted to collect the money. amustafa@thenational.ae