Former UN official jailed for drug offences in Dubai pardoned

Dubai, Dec 18 (UNI) A former UN official and adviser to the Afghan government on eradicating opium poppy crops, who was serving a four-year prison term in Dubai for drug possession, has received a pardon.

Herbert William Tatham, 36-year-old Canadian national, was among the prisoners who were pardoned by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, sources at Dubai's Central Prison in Al Aweer said.

The Dubai Court of Cassation sentenced the former UN adviser to four years in jail for possessing 0.6 gms of hashish, Gulf News reported today.

The Court of Cassation, which is the highest court in Dubai, found the Canadian guilty of smuggling and possessing hashish and two poppy seeds for personal use.

UNI