Rapper pleads guilty to drug charge

A Canadian rap artist who has moved to the UAE admits using hashish, the Court of First Instance hears.

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ABU DHABI // A Canadian rap artist who was just beginning a music career in the UAE admitted using hashish when he appeared before the Court of First Instance yesterday. With him in the court were an Emirati and two Sudanese men who also pleaded guilty to using the drug, though all four denied buying it. "They were given to me," the Canadian, CR, told the judge.The court did not ask how or where the drug had been acquired, nor is it known how the accused were caught, but they have been held in prison for two weeks pending trial.

CR, 26, is said to be a poet-turned-rap artist who moved to the UAE to focus on his music. He arrived a year and a half ago with a job in the IT sector and lives in the capital with his father, who has been here for six years. "He just got involved with the wrong crowd. This is the first time he has ever been involved in this kind of thing," his father said outside the court yesterday. The presiding judge postponed his verdict until June 14.

If convicted, CR faces a jail sentence, typically six months in such cases, followed by deportation back to Canada. myoussef@thenational.ae