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A young man heading to the gym early in the morning sprang into action after allegedly spotting a suspected drug peddler burying narcotics in the ground in Hamad Town, the court heard yesterday.
He chased down the suspect and, after allegedly finding him in possession of drugs, took him to the police station himself.
The 39-year-old Bangladeshi defendant is now standing trial before the High Criminal Court on charges of possessing and selling methamphetamine, commonly known as shabu, as well as consuming the drug for recreational purposes.
“It was around 6am and I was heading to the gym when I saw a man appearing to be doing something suspicious,” the Bahraini witness said, recounting the late August incident.
“He was near a home, digging in the ground, and it looked like he was using the most common method of drug distribution: dead drops,” the 21-year-old unemployed man added.
“I went towards him and he ran away, so I ran after him and was able to stop him. I saw that he had plastic bags wrapped in beige tape, which I believe contained drugs.
“He offered me two bags and told me he’s giving me the drugs. I dragged him to the North Hamad Town Police Station.”
A policeman who received the defendant at the station testified that the expat possessed 12 bags containing a crystallised substance believed to be a narcotic, as well as a mobile phone.
The Bangladeshi reportedly admitted to police that he had been placing narcotics at locations in Hamad Town when he was discovered.
The defendant was asked to lead the policemen to all locations where he had allegedly ‘dropped’ the narcotics, and nine more bags containing crystallised drugs were recovered and confiscated, the court heard.
The suspect and the contraband were handed over to the Anti-Narcotics Directorate.
A team was assembled to search the suspect’s flat in Sitra, where a 1gm roll of shabu was found, along with an electronic scale he allegedly used for his illicit activities.
According to a detective, investigations revealed that the defendant was part of an organised network that ‘methodically’ imported illicit substances for distribution and sale, with the intention of making a profit.
The expat’s role was to store the quantities of drugs he received and portion them out for distribution at pick-up spots around the country, the detective testified.
The Bangladeshi told prosecutors that he was working for a man named ‘Salman’, and admitted to using drugs.
A lab test detected traces of shabu in the defendant’s urine.
The hearing was adjourned to October 13 for defence arguments.
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