A MAN allegedly forced his wife to conceal drugs in her undergarments in an attempt to smuggle them into the country.
The Bahraini, aged 34, appeared at the High Criminal Court yesterday for his first hearing, where he denied attempting to smuggle narcotics.
The defendant was arrested in October last year after authorities at the King Fahad Causeway found a quarter of a kilo of hashish hidden under his wife’s abaya. They were travelling to Bahrain with their two children, aged two and four.
According to court documents, authorities had received information about the defendant buying narcotics from Saudi Arabia with an aim to sell it in Bahrain.
However, his wife, 30, claimed that she did not know what the bag contained and had just concealed it as she was instructed to do so by her husband. She has not been implicated in the case.
The defendant initially said he had threatened to assault his wife if she refused to conceal the bag. “I told her to hide the bag in her undergarment,” he said in his statement to prosecutors.
“She refused, but I threatened to assault her.
“She then succumbed to my wishes and concealed the cover, which contained hashish.”
An official at the causeway described how they found the narcotics on the woman.
“We received information that the defendant had hidden drugs in his vehicle,” the 40-year-old Bahraini said in his statement to prosecutors.
“We searched his car and found the narcotics under his wife’s abaya.”
The trial has been adjourned until Monday for review.
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