DUBAI // An American contractor who does business in Afghanistan fought with three undercover officers, thinking they were Taliban members, when he was arrested in connection with drug charges, a court heard yesterday.
K J, 27, was arrested on September 18 by three drug officers dressed in Pakistani national dress, records showed, and he fought with them while screaming, "they are not police".
A witness told prosecutors that K J had feared for his life because he thought the men were insurgents who wanted to kidnap him.
K J was charged with possession and consumption of 10 grammes of hashish, as well as facilitating the transfer of 2.8 grammes of the drug to another person. He denied the charges in the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance.
The American was detained after a taxi driver told police that a passenger offered him hashish after chatting with him about life in Afghanistan.
"I spoke to him about shars [hashish] and he told me he had some," the driver told prosecutors. "I asked for some to be sure, and he handed me a small piece wrapped in plastic."
After the defendant was dropped off at his hotel, he arranged for the taxi to pick him up later that day for another trip. The driver contacted police, who instructed him to take the passenger to a petrol station in the al Ghusais district, where they would arrest him.
During the arrest, the defendant reacted violently whilst trying to defend himself.
Police officers told the court that they presented their identifications and said they were police, but the defendant continued to wrestle with them.
They claimed that K J showed them the drugs in his possession, and said that he acquired them in Afghanistan with the intent of consuming them in the US. He will appear in court again next month.
