The appeals court has upheld a 15-year sentence and BD10,000 fine in the case of an expatriate who imported a parcel containing 6.83kg of unregulated CBD oil.
In July, the High Criminal Court found the man guilty of acting as a ‘vital link’ connecting the overseas-based supplier with small-time drug dealers in Bahrain.
The shipment originated from the UK, transited in Oman, and arrived in Bahrain for the appellant to distribute around the country. He admitted that he had only done this job once, for which he was paid BD200.
The 27-year-old Pakistani was arrested after he came to collect a mailed package containing synthetic cannabinoids, addressed to him, following an alert about its contents by Customs Affairs officers.
A trove of liquid narcotics was discovered by authorities on his person and in his apartment: an additional 608gm of unregulated CBD oil. In total, 7.4kg of the narcotic was found in his possession.
The defendant was charged with importing, possessing and selling the outlawed substance. On top of the jail time and fine, the court ruled to confiscate the contraband and deport him after the completion of his sentence.
He took to the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court to appeal the verdict but judges rejected his appeal.
“If the suspect’s actions are limited to physically transporting an illicit substance, it cannot be considered trading in drugs,” his lawyer earlier argued, referencing a Cassation Court precedent.
“If the court believes that the suspect did not sell the substances for profit, that also rules out the charge that he imported or trafficked the drugs internationally.”
The attorney did not manage to convince judges of his client’s innocence.
The GDN earlier reported that the Anti-Narcotics Directorate had formed a covert team to arrest the appellant as he signed for the package, with officers acting as courier employees.
“When he was arrested, we found six bottles on his person, containing 56.7gm of CBD oil,” a policeman testified. “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 Pakistani admitted to accusations in prosecution hearings, stating that he was part of a network that imported and distributed drugs from the UK.
His role was to receive the shipments then hand them over to other individuals, who would go on to portion out the wholesale quantity so that it could be sold around the country. He added that some dealers saturate printer paper with the oil.
A search of his phone reportedly yielded chats, in which the appellant sent and received photographs and co-ordinates of public locations, in which narcotics would be dropped to later be picked up. Videos and images of the narcotics were also found, as well as receipts of money transfers.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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