A WOMAN, who was ‘dead-dropping’ drugs in a residential neighbourhood while walking her dogs, has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined BD3,000 by the High Criminal Court.
The court heard that, after the dog-loving Filipina lost her job as a restaurant cook, her drug dealer took advantage of her challenging circumstances to recruit her to join his operation.
The 39-year-old defendant was found guilty of distributing methamphetamine (shabu) through dead drops, and judges ruled to confiscate the narcotics and deport her after completing her sentence.
Her three dogs were moved to the animal shelter on the day of her arrest.
According to police, the woman was seen ‘walking a small dog and carrying a pink handbag, moving with extreme caution’ while ‘stashing an item near a house in Abu Ashira’.
She was ‘caught in the act’ by Anti-Narcotics Directorate officers, who had received a tip-off about her and consequently staked out the areas she operated in.
The item appeared to be a bag containing a crystal substance, later confirmed to be meth. She was stopped and searched by female officers, who reportedly found five more bags of meth in her handbag.
Nearly half a kilogramme of shabu, in different forms, were recovered in rolls, bags and plastic containers around her Mahooz apartment, a police officer testified.
She was convicted of selling, promoting and distributing meth, and also possessing it for personal use. Traces of the stimulant were reportedly detected in her urine.
The GDN earlier reported that the drug bags were wrapped in a black tape, and were referred to as ‘rolls’ in court documents. More drug paraphernalia and packaging materials were also spotted in her flat.
Three dogs, found in her flat, were handed over to an animal shelter for caretaking. The police reached out to an animal welfare organisation, which sent a representative to the scene to collect the pets.
A receipt of the dogs’ admission to the shelter was provided in court documents, although further information about them, like their breeds or names, were not included.
Although the expatriate admitted to selling drugs as part of a ‘criminal network’, she told the Public Prosecution that she did it to provide for her family after she became unemployed.
“I previously worked as a cook at a restaurant in Seef, with a BD190 monthly salary, and have no other source of income, while my rent is BD120,” the Filipina earlier testified.
“I was also using drugs at the time, and would purchase them from a Pakistani man. I got to know him, and he told me I could be a seller and get extra cash.
“I needed to support my family, and he knew that, so he offered to help.
“So we agreed, and I received the goods from him more than 20 times, whether it be shabu, hashish, CBD oil, cocaine or heroin. Then I drop them off at a location he sends me.
“He would wire me BD150 to BD180 in return.”
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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