A Doha Criminal Court has sentenced a Sri Lankan man to three years in jail and imposed a fine of QR200,000 for illicit drug trade, local Arabic daily Arrayah has reported.
The defendant was arrested while trying to sell heroin to an undercover police officer at Al Sayliyah Area. The action followed the Drug Prevention Department of the Ministry of Interior receiving a tip-off.
When contacted by an undercover police officer, the defendant offered to sell him heroin for QR3,000. At the designated time and place, a police patrol was watching the transaction from a distance. The defendant called the officer and asked him to place the money under a car he had specified, then he came and took the money and placed the heroin in the same place.
At this point, the police patrol arrested the man and searched him to find more heroin with him alongside the money delivered by the officer.
Used vehicles market sees slump in sales
The used vehicle market on Street 10 of the Doha Industrial Area is witnessing a drop in sales of vehicles, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported.
Many factors have contributed to such a situation including the construction and road works which make it difficult for customers to access the place.
Many buyers are also reluctant to pay a good price as the vehicles may need costly repairs. A person familiar with the market told the daily that the number of vehicles sold has dropped considerably.
“Now may be only three cars are sold a day compared to 30 six months ago,” he said. Many also told Arrayah that the prices of different types of used vehicles have dropped by almost 50%, especially for older models.
Met office predicts thundershowers, strong winds
Thundershowers are expected in parts of the country today along with strong winds, the Qatar Met department has said.
Doha is among the places where it may rain today, according to the weather report.
Information available on the Met department’s social media channels showed light to moderate rain was reported from different parts of the country yesterday.
Earlier, on Monday night, some places in Qatar witnessed a drop in visibility - to 2km or less - due to blowing dust. A satellite image showed cumulonimbus clouds over eastern Saudi Arabia, accompanied by strong downdraft winds, on Monday night. The resultant dusty conditions and poor visibility extended to Qatar, the weather office said.
The detailed forecast for inshore areas today says it will be hot during the day with slight dust and partly cloudy to cloudy conditions. There is a chance of scattered rain, which may be thundery in some places at times.
Offshore areas will see hazy and partly cloudy to cloudy conditions, and there is also a possibility of scattered rain there.
The wind speed may go up to 25 knots in inshore areas during thundershowers and 20 knots in offshore areas at times.
Visibility, meanwhile, will be around 3km or less during thundery rain.
A maximum temperature of 41C is expected in Abu Samra today, followed by 39C in Dukhan, 38C in Doha, 37C in Messaied, Wakrah and Al Khor and 34C in Al Ruwais.
Toyota Avalon 2016 model recalled
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has recalled 2016 Toyota Avalon vehicles to examine the air bag sensor of the front passenger seat.
The Ministry said the recall decision was part of its continuous co-ordination and follow-up to ascertain the commitment of car dealerships to follow up vehicle defects and repair them as well as protecting consumer rights.
The Ministry stressed that it will be in a co-ordination with the company’s agent to follow up on maintenance, repairs and communication with customers to ensure the implementation of procedures and reparation the defective cars.
The MEC has urged all customers to report any violations to the Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department.
