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The UAE Federal Supreme Court has partially overturned an appeals court ruling ordering the deportation of a resident convicted of consuming psychotropic and harmful substances. The top court reinstated the original Dh30,000 fine from the trial court in Ajman while cancelling the deportation measure after finding that the appellate judges had misapplied the law, according to a Gulf News report. The resident, who was born in the UAE and lives with his family in the country, had argued that deportation would cause serious harm to his family’s stability. This decision came after the defendant appealed the substitution of the fine with removal from the UAE.
The original trial court convicted the man of consuming methamphetamine and pregabalin for a second time in unauthorised circumstances, along with tropicamide that can damage the mind, central nervous system and cause sedation based on a criminal laboratory report, Emarat Al Youm reported. That court imposed only the financial penalty without ordering deportation. The defendant subsequently filed an appeal against the ruling, which led the appeals court to replace the fine entirely with a deportation order. The Federal Supreme Court identified this replacement as a legal error in its review of the case.
In its judgment the Federal Supreme Court explained that Article 126 of the Crimes and Penalties Law allows courts to order the deportation of a foreign national instead of a custodial sentence for a misdemeanour under specified conditions. The provision applies only to imprisonment and does not extend to substituting a fine, which constitutes a principal criminal penalty while deportation functions as an additional legal measure, the court stated. The appeals judgment failed to observe this distinction when it cancelled the financial sanction and imposed removal instead, according to the Supreme Court’s assessment reported by both Gulf News and Emirates 24|7.
The ruling also examined Article 75 of the Law on Combating Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2025. That legislation provides for deportation of foreigners convicted under its terms subject to exceptions where the individual belongs to a family residing in the UAE and removal would seriously harm the family’s stability or deprive members of necessary care or support, the Supreme Court noted. Given the defendant’s background as a UAE-born resident with family ties these exceptions proved relevant to the final outcome of the appeal.
Official figures from Sharjah Police show that authorities arrested 4,757 suspects in drug-related cases between 2023 and 2025 while seizing psychotropic substances and assets worth Dh392.8 million. This enforcement backdrop accompanies legal refinements that allow judicial discretion in personal consumption cases involving long-term residents. Gulf News has reported multiple instances where courts have overturned deportation orders under the amended anti-narcotics provisions to avoid undue family hardship.
The Federal Supreme Court additionally determined that the defendant’s arguments about not being questioned during preliminary investigation and interrogation phases concerned pre-trial procedures and could not alone serve as grounds to challenge the conviction itself. By accepting the appeal in form the court corrected the judgment to remove the deportation component while upholding the initial Dh30,000 fine and rejecting remaining aspects of the challenge. The decision returns the insurance amount to the appellant as part of the formal resolution.
