Pinoy gets life for selling shabu in UAE

MANILA, Philippines - A United Arab Emirates court has sentenced a 35-year-old Filipino to life imprisonment for possessing and selling methamphetamine, the Gulf News reported over the weekend.

According to the report, drug enforcement officers in Dubai arrested last April the man for possessing 4.75 grams of methamphetamine in his pockets outside the building where he lived in Satwa. 

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Charles Jose said they are still verifying the report. 

The Dubai Court of First Instance also fined the man 50,000 dirhams following his conviction for possessing methamphetamine for trading purposes and providing it to others. 

According to the primary ruling, the seized substances will be confiscated and the Filipino will be deported following the completion of his punishment. 

When a drug enforcement team raided the man’s house, they also found his girlfriend, also Filipino, acting suspiciously as if she was on drugs. She tested positive for methamphetamine, the news report said. 

The man earlier denied possessing banned substances for trading purposes. 

The man was quoted as telling the investigating prosecutor that a Korean man had provided him with the methamphetamine to sell to another man for 10,000 dirhams. He alleged that he was promised 1,000 dirhams as payment. 

The man’s girlfriend is to stand trial before the Dubai Misdemeanors Court for methamphetamine consumption. 

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal, according to Gulf News.

Data from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas show that there are 931,562 Filipinos in the Muslim country as of December 2012.