A Doha Criminal Court has sentenced a Nigerian expatriate to 20 years in jail and imposed a fine of QR200,000 on him for being involved in narcotics trade.

According to local Arabic daily Arrayah, the court also ordered his deportation upon serving the jail term. Besides dealing in marijuana, the man was also convicted for drug consumption.
Meanwhile, another Nigerian man who was accompanying the first defendant during his arrest was sentenced to one year in jail and directed to pay a fine of QR200,000 for consuming narcotics. The court also ordered his subsequent deportation.
The matter came to light when the first defendant offered to sell a small amount of marijuana for QR5,000 to an undercover police source. Accordingly, the source proceeded with the operation after getting permission from the authorities concerned, the daily said.
The two parties met at the designated time and place, somewhere in Mamoura, with the police keeping an eye on the proceedings. When the defendant handed over the contraband to the source and took the money, he was arrested.
A search of his vehicle revealed more amounts of marijuana as well as some hashish. Eventually, the court convicted both the men based on the findings of the investigation and police reports.