A dozy drug dealer was identified and arrested after he sent a text message to a user offering him supplies, not knowing that his client was currently behind bars, the High Criminal Court heard.
The police quickly arranged an operation in which the 34-year-old Egyptian defendant could be caught red-handed, and he sold hashish to an undercover police informant.
The man, who was previously employed as a legal adviser, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined BD5,000.
A fellow Egyptian, who bought hashish from the dealer, was sentenced to a year behind bars and fined BD1,000 for possessing cannabis for recreational use.
However, the user claimed that he could not be held liable for drug use, since he ‘only takes drugs in Egypt’, and had only the day before his arrest returned to Bahrain from a visit to his home country.
The court ruled to confiscate the narcotics and deport both men back to Egypt after the completion of their sentences.
Police picked up on the defendant’s trail when the regular customer received the message while remanded in jail on drug charges. He informed the Anti-Narcotics Directorate expressing a ‘desire to help them’ catch his dealer.
The Bahraini ordered 200 to 250g of hashish under police supervision, and the two agreed on a time and place to meet and make the exchange.
Little did the defendant know that the entire sale was being monitored by police lying in wait to seize him in the act.
A detective recounted that, after receiving the information from the detainee, a warrant was acquired from the Public Prosecution to make the arrest.
“He asked him for hashish worth BD550, and the two agreed that he’d give him BD200 up front, and pay the rest later,” the officer said.
“After the informant met the suspect in his (informant) apartment, and bought the 119g of hashish from him, a team of policemen took the man into custody.”
Police found another 117g of hashish on the man and evidence of processing and packaging of the illegal herb was found in his apartment.
A 30-year-old client of the dealer was also arrested following an investigation into the latter’s communications and business activities.
“We meet in a coffeehouse in Hoora, where I usually buy 4g from him, which I’ve done four times so far,” he admitted. “I’ve been using for eight months, and it started with the defendant supplying me with it. However, the last time I took drugs was five days ago in Egypt, so I haven’t used any drugs in Bahrain recently.”
On the dealer’s phone, investigators found text messages between the man and his clients, as well as a video of a ‘dark paste’ thought to contain hashish.
Urine samples from the defendants showed evidence of hashish in their systems.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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