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An Asian man who had earlier been sentenced to life in prison along with two others for possessing and dealing drugs has had his sentence cancelled by the federal appeals court.
The man was also cleared of the charges due to lack of evidence.
Official court documents stated that three men were arrested by police in Abu Dhabi after they were suspected of possessing and dealing narcotics and psychotropic substances.
Prosecutors said that the Abu Dhabi Police’s Drug Enforcement Department received a tip off from their sources that one of the Asians was possessing and dealing drugs.
An undercover agent disguised as a buyer and contacted the man. They agreed to meet at a certain place to sell him drugs for D550.
When the man arrived at the meeting place, police officers who were hiding in the nearby area as they monitored the transaction came and arrested the dealer as he exchanged drugs with the undercover agent for money.
Police searched the man’s car and his house and found other narcotics and psychotropic substances inside.
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Two other Asians, who were caught moving with the man were also arrested but they were not found in possession of drugs.
Prosecutors had charged the three men with possessing and dealing drugs.
Both the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance and the appeals court had earlier sentenced the first and second defendants in the case to life in prison and acquitted the third man.
The lawyer of the second defendant challenged the ruling to the federal appeals court arguing that his client was wrongly convicted and sentenced because there was no evidence to prove that he passed or dealt drugs because nothing was found in his possession when police arrested them.
After looking into the case, the judge decided to cancel the life imprisonment sentence for the second defendant and also cleared him of the charges due to lack of sufficient evidence.
