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An expatriate saleswoman is standing trial at the High Criminal Court for allegedly possessing and dealing in marijuana.
The 49-year-old Filipina was arrested after she went to the Customs Affairs to receive a package from Thailand, which contained the illicit drug.
According to court documents, an officer ran the package through the scanner, and found that it contained a herbal substance, later confirmed to be marijuana.
They called the defendant in to receive the consignment and then detained her for questioning upon arrival.
Investigations were launched and officers found that the woman was allegedly part of a network that smuggled and sold drugs and psychedelic substances in the kingdom.
This was not the first time the defendant allegedly dealt in the substances. The court heard that she accepted multiple packages in the past and would take it to another individual involved in smuggling psychedelic substances in exchange for BD20.
The authorities have been unable to identify the second suspect, but investigations are still ongoing.
One of the witnesses, a customs officer, said he was engaged in his duties when he received the package from Thailand on February 22.
“As part of the standard procedure, we ran it through the scanner. The content seemed suspicious and so we opened the package to see what looked like a herbal or food item.
“There were 12 bags in total, and we were able to confirm that it was about 1.2kg of marijuana meant for sale and distribution in the kingdom.
“We contacted the defendant and she arrived to take the package.
“We detained her for questioning and inspected her phone. We found emails and conversations regarding the distribution of drugs.”
The woman was sent to the Public Prosecution which subsequently referred her for trial at the High Criminal Court.
The accused denied accusations against her and claimed she had no idea what was in the package and that her only role was to accept the parcel when it arrived in Bahrain.
She said she would agree ahead of time to meet the man who took the package from her, and he would pay her BD20 for each consignment she received. She claimed she ‘had no idea that they contained drugs’.
The case has been adjourned until Tuesday for further deliberation.
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