Judges have slashed a drug peddler’s 11-year prison sentence to three years after finding that he had assisted police by identifying his suppliers.
The 43-year-old Bahraini was convicted in April of possessing hashish, synthetic cannabinoids, heroin, methamphetamine, pregabalin (Lyrica) and clonazepam (Klonopin) with the intent to sell and for personal use.
The High Criminal Court sentenced him to 11 years in prison and fined him BD6,000 – 10 years for drug trafficking and one year for drug use.
He lodged an appeal at the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court, arguing that he had provided police with information about his suppliers – two Pakistani brothers known as ‘Farooq’ and ‘Fadhl’.
His lawyer sought the application of Article 53 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law, which exempts suspects from punishment if they voluntarily disclose the identity of an accomplice.
Judges were persuaded by the argument, acquitting him of the drug trading charges while upholding his conviction for drug use.
The court heard that ‘Fadhl’ had been deported from Bahrain in 2020 for selling an assortment of narcotics, and was previously sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison.
“The effect of Article 53 is not lessened by the fact that a criminal is known to authorities and was found guilty in other cases,” read the appeals verdict.
“Each crime is counted on its own, so if a suspect informs on a known perpetrator, but exposes a previously-unknown action or incident, that qualifies him for a pardon.”
In the initial High Criminal Court case, the 43-year-old appellant was tried alongside a 32-year-old Bahraini, who was sentenced to a year in prison and fined BD1,000 for using drugs.
The pair were found consuming drugs in a parked car in Juffair when a police officer stumbled upon them while looking for a wanted man in the area.
Upon checking the identities of the two companions, the policeman discovered that the 32-year-old was already wanted in another case.
“In February 2024, I was trying to find and arrest a wanted man, when I saw the defendants’ car, and they appeared to be in an unnatural state,” the officer earlier testified.
“The second defendant (32-year-old) was holding a glass pipe. When I asked for their CPR cards, he began searching through a bag and I saw small packages containing a crystal substance.
“I found he was wanted by the Anti-Narcotics Directorate and reported him. Meanwhile, the driver was the first defendant. Both were arrested, and a crime scene crew arrived to collect evidence.
“The driver admitted to buying drugs from ‘Farooq’ and ‘Fadhl’, and led us to a dead drop location where we found ‘rolls’ of heroin.
“All four men work within the same network, which was involved in a court case in which drugs were being imported through the brothers’ Bahrain-based agents.
“The driver admitted obtaining narcotics from the network and selling them for profit,” the officer said.
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