A woman was sent on a 20-day tropical vacation by a drug dealer, who paid all her travel expenses, in exchange for transporting a suitcase of marijuana to Bahrain.
The Indian defendant was acquitted of drug smuggling charges by the High Criminal Court, after she provided information that led to the arrest of another accomplice.
The accomplice, an Indian labourer, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined BD10,000 on drug trading charges. The court ordered that both be deported.
The court heard that the 24-year-old woman was asked by a friend named Shahid to bring 5.49kg of marijuana from Thailand, in return for 40,000 Indian rupees (BD159).
She went on a 12-day pleasure trip to Bangkok, with Shahid covering the flights and hotel stays. Four days before her departure, a taxi delivered her a black suitcase to take with her.
After the paid-for holiday, she spent eight more days in Malaysia. When her visa was ready, she travelled to Bahrain via Dubai. Her time in Kuala Lumpur was also sponsored by Shahid.
Upon arriving in Bahrain with the bag from Thailand, her baggage was marked as suspicious. Airport security officers searched it and discovered 10 plastic bags full of illicit herbal substances.
She was arrested, and admitted to being sponsored by Shahid, and led investigators to the man she was ordered to deliver the shipment to.
A meeting was set up with the 36-year-old co-defendant, and upon receiving the goods, he was also arrested by police. After searching his house, authorities found a scale that had traces of methamphetamine on it.
“The first defendant is to be spared penalty for the charge of possessing narcotics with intend to trade,” read the court ruling.
Article 53, under which the woman was pardoned, exempts defendants who voluntarily inform authorities of the identity of an accomplice, before the accomplice is identified.
If the report is made after the authorities become aware of the crime, exemption from punishment requires that the report leads to the arrest of the remaining offenders or the identification of those who participated in the crime.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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