Filipino waiter gets life in jail for .08g of drugs
Staff Report
DUBAI - A Filipino pizza waiter has been sentenced to life in jail for possessing less than a gram of methamphetamine.
The 32-year-old waiter, identified as M.M. lost his appeal on Monday after the Dubai Cassation Court upheld a verdict of life imprisonment. M.M. was found guilty of possessing 0.08g of methamphetamine for trading purposes.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of AED 50,000. M.M. had admitted possessing the drug for personal use.
His accomplice, another Filipino waiter, R.S. was acquitted in May of possessing methamphetamine for trading purposes, however, prosecutors appealed the acquittal and the Appeal Court on Monday overturned the primary ruling, jailing R.S. for life and ordering him to pay a fine of AED 50,000.
The two were arrested in an undercover operation, with an informant posing as a buyer at Al Riqqa.
An anti-narcotics police team monitored the deal taking place between the informant and the duo, and arrested the two when the deal was sealed. Police also searched their residence and found some drug paraphernalia.
