MANAMA: A man who smuggled drugs into Bahrain has been cleared of the charge but jailed for three years for using narcotics.
The 30-year-old Bahraini security guard brought the drugs into the country during a family trip with his wife and son.
The High Criminal Court acquitted him of the smuggling charge after he helped authorities to set up a sting operation to arrest others involved in the case. He led authorities to two Saudi brothers, including one aged 40 who is at large.
The second Saudi, aged 21, was acquitted due to lack of evidence.
The defendant was arrested at King Fahad Causeway with five kilos of hashish with a street value of more than BD40,000.
A K9 unit alerted authorities to the drugs hidden in the vehicle’s bonnet.
The security man’s wife and 10-year-old son did not stand trial as they had no knowledge of the drug smuggling attempt.
The 40-year-old Saudi defendant was jailed for 15 years after being found guilty of smuggling drugs.
“The security guard (defendant aged 30) said that he met his co-defendants in a bar in Bahrain,” read the court ruling.
“He said that the 40-year-old Saudi drug dealer who is abroad then asked him to smuggle drugs into Bahrain for BD3,000.
“The security guard said that he needed the money and agreed to take his wife and son to draw away suspicion from the vehicle being used to smuggle hashish.
“He met the 40-year-old in Saudi Arabia and drove the vehicle which contained narcotics to Bahrain.
“He was arrested at King Fahad Causeway and led authorities to his co-defendants.
“However, the second Saudi man, aged 21, was acquitted due to lack of evidence.”
The Bahraini defendant was also fined BD3,000 while the Saudi drug dealer was fined BD10,000 for his part of the crime.
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