A Doha Criminal Court has sentenced a Bangladeshi man to 10 years in jail and a fine of QR300,000 for attempting to smuggle illicit drugs into the country.
Local Arabic daily Arrayah reported on Monday that the court also ordered his deportation upon completing his sentence.
The defendant had flown into Qatar on a work visa. As he was passing through the customs clearance section at the Hamad International Airport (HIA), he panicked and tried to evade the officers.
Accordingly, the officer in charge ordered a full search of his luggage, which revealed three big packages, each carefully wrapped. The packages were found to contain marijuana.
During interrogation, the defendant said that the packages belonged to another person who issued him a visa to Qatar. However, the court convicted him based on the drugs he carried.