The Indian embassy yesterday issued an advisory, cautioning the community against bringing prohibited items including drugs while travelling to Qatar.
“The embassy of India keeps getting information about cases of Indians bringing unsolicited parcels while travelling from India to Qatar which are later found to be banned/restricted items including drugs,” the embassy said in a X post. The advisory said such cases face prosecution by the local authorities as per Qatari law which prescribes stringent punishments. The embassy urged members of the Indian community not to carry unsolicited parcels and also to bring this information to the notice of their relatives, employees and acquaintances.
Over the years, Qatar's Ministry of Interior (MoI) has repeatedly urged travellers to be careful while carrying medicines to the country and asked them to strictly follow procedures and restrictions that are in place. It’s not allowed for the arriving or departing travellers to carry drugs without a detailed and attested medical report by the hospital where they received treatment. The departing or arriving travellers aren’t allowed to carry drugs containing narcotics or psychotropic substances except following the controls and conditions issued by the authorities concerned.
These should be carried out with a medical report with a validity of not exceeding six months. The report should contain personal details of the patient, medical diagnosis, treatment plan and duration along with medical prescriptions and the scientific name of the medicine. Travellers have to ensure that their baggage does not contain narcotic substances or medicinal drugs with dangerous psychotropic substances. As per the law, the carrier bears full criminal responsibility if these materials are prohibited in the country.
Anyone caught for the consumption of narcotic substances can get a fine of not more than QR10,000 and not less than QR5,000. Imprisonment for a period of not exceeding three years and not less than six months and a fine of not exceeding QR20,000 and not less than QR10,000 will be given in case of drug abuse. This applies to whomever imports, possesses, acquires, purchases, receives, transports, produces, extracts, separates or manufactures narcotic substances.
