UAE: Woman Agreed To Smuggle Drugs, Promised Good Job In Dubai

The 39-year-old woman and her African accomplice were arrested red-handed by the Dubai Police.

A Pakistani woman was so desperate to live and work in Dubai that she agreed to smuggle heroin to the UAE after a drug trafficker promised her a good job here. The 39-year-old woman and her African accomplice were arrested red-handed by the Dubai Police recently.

The duo used a unique method to traffic heroin and other drugs: They hid it in women's accessories made of beads, the police have said.

The anti-narcotics department of the Dubai Police received information that a Nigerian, A.H., possessed a large quantity of drugs and was planning to sell it in the emirate. The police learnt that the 33-year-old suspect would be in Al Nakheel area near a hotel.

A police team placed him under surveillance and learnt that the female suspect would hand over drugs to him on November 2. The police set a trap near a park and spotted A.H. talking on the phone. He went and sat inside a bus stop. Soon after, the Pakistani woman was spotted with a "large bag". The two suspects went behind some trees, where the woman handed over the bag to the man.

When he opened the bag, the police swooped in. The suspects tried to flee, but the police arrested them, Colonel Eid bin Thani Hareb, acting Director of the General Department of Anti- Narcotics, said. Initially, the woman denied any involvement in the smuggling bid, claiming she had come to the country in search of a job.

On opening the bag, the police found smaller plastic bags that contained accessories stuffed with heroin. Each bag contained around 7kg of bangles, rings and other accessories. During the public prosecution interrogation, the woman reportedly confessed that she had smuggled drugs to the country on different occasions in the past.

She told investigators that a drug trafficker in her home country gave her the drugs and also paid for her air ticket and accommodation.

"I agreed to transport drugs because he promised to get me a job in Dubai. I was very keen to come and work here," an investigator quoted the suspect as saying.

The police raided the Nigerian suspect's flat and discovered that he arrived in the country on a visit visa. He was staying on even though the visa had expired.

Major-General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police for Criminal Investigation, hailed the efforts of the team in arresting the suspects.

The police have recorded 104 heroin smuggling cases since the beginning of the year till November 30. Over 99kg heroin was seized.