Brit given life term for smuggling cannabis.A BRITON has been sentenced to life in prison in Kuwait after he was convicted of smuggling smuggling, illegal transport across state or national boundaries of goods or persons liable to customs or to prohibition. Smuggling has been carried on in nearly all nations and has occasionally been adopted as an instrument of national policy, as by Great Britain cannabis from Iraq where he worked as a civilian defence contractor, his lawyer said. Gareth Rutherford, 50, who was facing a possible death sentence, denied accusations that he tried to smuggle smug·gle v. smug·gled, smug·gling, smug·gles v.tr. 1. To import or export without paying lawful customs charges or duties. 2. To bring in or take out illicitly or by stealth. 49kg of hashish hashish (hăsh`ēsh, –ĭsh), resin extracted from the flower clusters and top leaves of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, and C. indica. into Kuwait in the tyre of a car. His lawyer, Hassan al-Hotiri, said yesterday he will now appeal the court ruling. Rutherford worked for a Kuwaiti shipping company that has a contract with the British military in Basra, his lawyer said. He was arrested last September while reportedly crossing into the oil-rich state with drugs, alcohol and cash. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said his sentence would be 25 years but he would be appealing against it immediately. She said his appeal would be heard within a month, adding: ''We are aware of the case and we are following developments.'' A Ministry of Defence spokesman said it was a civilian matter.. |
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