Hyderabadi lands in Qatar jail for carrying talcum powder, suspected to be narcotic substance

Hyderabad: Who would have thought carrying a pinch of talcum powder would land someone in trouble. Applying a little talcum powder on body or on face would help someone tackle the excessively hot temperatures like those in Gulf countries. And this gentleman from Hyderabad who went to Qatar in search of employment found himself behind […]

Hyderabad: Who would have thought carrying a pinch of talcum powder would land someone in trouble. Applying a little talcum powder on body or on face would help someone tackle the excessively hot temperatures like those in Gulf countries.

And this gentleman from Hyderabad who went to Qatar in search of employment found himself behind the bars, after authorities found a pinch of talcum powder packed in a tissue paper on his person or carrying a fraction of a talcum powder in a paper without noticing it only to be arrested upon arrival in a country where he came to search for the job, as authorities suspected to be a narcotic substance.

Mohammed Nawaz of Uppuguda in Hyderabad was taken into custody on charges of carrying suspected narcotic substance in facial tissue papers on December 11 and since then he has been spending time behind bars in Qatar.

An MBA graduate, Nawaz went to Dubai last year in search of employment where he had attended some job interviews. Since it was his first visit to the gulf region where weather is very hot, he was carrying Ponds talcum powder in a facial tissue paper that were kept inside his laptop bag. He was applying talcum powder whenever he was going out for a job interview to avoid irritation and uneasiness because of high temperature, his family members said.

As he could not get a job in Dubai, Nawaz flew to Qatar to try his luck in the tiny yet gas rich country on December 11. But he was taken into custody on arrival in Doha as customs officials found the talcum powder in a folded facial tissue paper in his laptop bag.

According to sources, Nawaz insisted that the powder was nothing, but global brand of Ponds and that he was innocent. The sample of powder has been referred to a laboratory for testing and Nawaz detained. Since then, Nawaz family and their relatives in Qatar were pleading innocence and trying for his release.

According to rules, carriage of any powder or powder-like substance in hand or carry-on baggage which is 350 ml or larger is prohibited. Substances like spices, sugar, flour, ground coffee and cosmetics are also not allowed. Even most gulf countries do not permit to carry even less than 350 ml.

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