An expatriate who allegedly attempted to smuggle illicit substances into the kingdom from Mumbai will learn his fate next month.
The 24-year-old Indian mechanic from Hidd is standing trial at the High Criminal Court, where he is facing charges relating to smuggling hashish, morphine, pregabalin and clonazepam through Bahrain International Airport.
According to court documents, he was apprehended by a Bahraini customs officer on duty on August 24 this year.
The officer received a piece of luggage that had arrived from Mumbai and placed it through the security scanner. The scan revealed suspicious items inside the bag.
As part of standard security procedures, the officer marked the luggage with an ‘X’. When the defendant arrived for security checks, both the individual and the marked luggage were referred to the Red Line for further screening.
Initially, the suspect allegedly attempted to go through the Green Line, intended for passengers with no additional security checks, but he was stopped by the 34-year-old customs officer.
The defendant was asked if there was anything he wanted to declare, but he reportedly said ‘no’.
Airport personnel began to inspect his luggage in front of him and found illicit substances, including herbal powder believed to be hashish, 29 pregabalin capsules, 30 clonazepam pills and an unidentified substance.
The officers found the drugs in black plastic bags hidden inside some of his clothes. In total, almost 400 bags filled with these substances were discovered in his luggage.
The expat was detained and an investigation was launched by the authorities, who according to court documents, used an anonymous source to gather information on the suspect.
Officials found that the defendant not only knew he was smuggling drugs into the kingdom but also did so knowing the substances were illegal in Bahrain.
Additionally, they discovered that he smuggled the substances into the country not only for personal use but also to sell them to acquaintances.
Upon interrogation, the man allegedly admitted to smuggling drugs into Bahrain with the intention of selling them to his friends.
He was handed over to the Public Prosecution, which subsequently forwarded the case to the High Criminal Court for trial.
Laboratory tests later confirmed that the herbal substance was about 2.2kg of hashish. The previously unidentified substance turned out to be morphine.
The case has been adjourned until January 13 when judges are expected to deliver a verdict.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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