“The accused will be deported following the completion of her punishment,” Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad said.
The defendant admitted that she possessed the capsules, but said she used them for “medical purposes.”
Her lawyer provided the court with a medical prescription, which he said his client obtained from her doctor in Iran.
“My client did not have any criminal intent. She suffers from a hernia and other ailmentsÖ. She had a medical prescription for those capsules. We also ask the court to acquit her or treat her with leniency because she takes care of her sick 74-year-old husband,” said the lawyer.
Chief Drugs Prosecutor Walid Ali Khalifa asked the court to award the toughest punishment applicable.
An Emirati policewoman testified that the Iranian woman, identified only by her initials as S.A., was arrested at Dubai International Airport’s transit section.
“She was taken to the luggage belt to pick up her bags. Upon searching her handbags, we found a big plastic box that looked like a yoghurt box. It was wrapped with clothes. We found plenty of white rounded capsules hidden inside the box,” the policewoman said.
An Emirati anti-narcotics police corporal testified that they issued an arrest warrant after one of their informants warned them that the defendant would be coming from Iran carrying drugs.