Dubai driver jailed, fined after crashing into boat under influence of crystal meth

A Dubai Traffic Court has convicted an Asian driver for driving under the influence of drugs after he crashed into a boat and a vehicle in Al Qusais, causing damage to both, before police found crystal methamphetamine in his possession.

The court sentenced the defendant to jail, imposed a fine, and suspended his driving licence for three months after finding him guilty of possessing narcotic substances for personal use, consuming drugs, driving under the influence of narcotics, and causing damage to another person’s property through negligent driving.

Court records showed that the incident came to light after authorities received a report of a traffic accident in Al Qusais. Investigations revealed that the defendant was reversing his vehicle carelessly and without paying proper attention when he struck a boat parked beside its owner’s home, damaging both the boat and his vehicle.

Police officers who responded to the scene noticed that the driver was behaving abnormally and carried out a precautionary search. During the inspection, they found a transparent crystalline substance inside his wallet suspected to be crystal meth.

The seized substance was referred to the General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology, where laboratory tests confirmed that it was a prohibited narcotic substance listed under the UAE’s anti-drug laws.

During questioning, the defendant admitted consuming crystal meth before driving on the day of the incident. He also confessed that the drugs found in his possession were intended for his personal use and acknowledged causing the accident after reversing without paying attention.

In its ruling, the court said the evidence against the defendant was consistent and conclusive, relying on his confession, the police report and forensic laboratory findings, which established both his possession and consumption of narcotic substances while driving.

The court further found that the defendant had committed several interrelated offences, including consuming psychotropic substances, possessing drugs for personal use, driving under the influence of narcotics, and damaging another person’s property through negligent driving.

As the offences were committed for a single purpose and were inseparably linked, the court treated them as one offence and imposed the most severe applicable penalty under the law, consisting of imprisonment, a fine and a three-month suspension of his driving licence.