TWO people appeared in court for the first time facing drug smuggling charges involving large amounts of crystal meth, locally known as shabu, arriving in air freighted packages.
A Moroccan man, 31, and a Thai woman, 41, appeared at the High Criminal Court where they denied the charges.
They were arrested after secret sources tipped off the authorities about drugs arriving in a package under the name of ‘Miss Manthana’.
Officials intercepted it and found 60 grams of shabu, with a street value of more than BD50,000, inside a shipment of handbags sent on Emirates Airways on August 15.
It was delivered by FedEx from Malaysia, via Dubai, before arriving at Bahrain International Airport.
Authorities ran the handbags through an X-ray machine before uncovering the drugs which were hidden in secret compartments stitched into the handbags.
The Thai woman was arrested when she showed up to collect the shipment before she helped authorities apprehend her co-defendant.
A detective described how they allegedly smuggled drugs into Bahrain from Malaysia.
“I received information about a drug trafficking ring that smuggled shabu into Bahrain through air freight companies,” he said.
“They hid drugs in packages in a professional way in an attempt to evade arrest.
“We then found two handbags containing shabu after running it through an X-ray machine. The drugs were stitched in secret compartments in the bags.”
The Thai woman called the Moroccan man and he arrived to collect the handbags, the court heard.
She told prosecutors that she was picking up a package on behalf of her co-defendant and denied knowledge of the drugs.
“I helped him (co-defendant) find drug users and he gave me money,” she told prosecutors. “However, I did not know that the package he sent me to collect contained narcotics.
“I did find him customers to sell drugs to but I really did not know anything about him smuggling drugs.”
The trial has been adjourned until Monday.
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