A man is on trial in the High Criminal Court for his alleged role as a link in an international drug smuggling route which started in the UK, transited through Oman, with Bahrain as its intended destination.
He was arrested after a 6.83kg mail package containing synthetic cannabinoids, addressed to him, was marked as suspicious by Customs Affairs officers.
A trove of liquid narcotics – an additional 608gm of unregulated CBD oil – was also later discovered by the authorities on his person and in his apartment.
The 27-year-old Pakistani has been charged with importing, possessing and selling the outlawed substance.
The court heard that the Anti-Narcotics Directorate had formed a covert team to arrest the defendant as he signed for the package. “We went to Tubli, where the man lives, disguised as courier employees,” an officer earlier told the Public Prosecution. “When he was arrested, we found six bottles on his person, containing 56.7gm of CBD oil.
“In his flat, we found 55 containers that held a total of 520gm of the substance, plus another bottle of 30.7gm, while we detected residue of the substance in 20 empty containers.”
The expatriate denies all charges despite reportedly admitting to accusations in prosecution hearings, stating that he was part of a network that imported and distributed drugs from the UK.
He stated that the packages went to Oman first and, if they passed through customs, they would be relayed to Bahrain, the court heard.
His role was to receive the shipments then hand them over to others who would portion out the supplies to be sold around the country.
According to his statement, he had only carried out his role once and received BD200 for his troubles. He added that some dealers saturate printer paper with the oil.
In total, 7.4kg of the narcotic was found in his possession.
A search of his phone reportedly yielded chats, in which the defendant sent and received photographs and co-ordinates of public locations, in which narcotics were delivered to be picked up.
Videos and images of the narcotics were also found, as well as receipts of money transfers. Judges set June 30 as the date a verdict will be issued.
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