A young man, who started selling narcotics to his friends ‘to make ends meet’, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for importing synthetic cannabinoids from Malaysia.
The 25-year-old Bahraini managed to receive half of the Cannabidiol (CBD) shipment without getting caught, but was apprehended after customs officers detected the suspicious liquid in a package addressed to him.
The High Criminal Court also convicted the defendant of possessing hashish, methamphetamine and pregabalin (Lyrica) for personal use, and fined him BD5,000.
According to court documents, the defendant reached out to an individual in Malaysia through WhatsApp and paid him BD400 via international wire transfer, in return for a 400ml shipment of CBD oil.
During Public Prosecution hearings, he admitted to selling some of the oil in the first package, and using some himself, and said he accepted both cash and digital transfers for payment.
A search of the defendant’s phone reportedly yielded photos of narcotic substances, conversations regarding drug sales, and copies of incoming payment receipts.
He also admitted to carrying out his illicit activities between 2022 and 2024.
The GDN earlier reported a case where a defendant, later convicted of selling CBD oil, priced 10ml of the liquid at BD100.
Bahrain-based illicit CBD vendors are known to import the liquid via post from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
CBD oil is derived from cannabis and is a popular natural remedy for many ailments. However, it is outlawed in Bahrain as the liquid may be cut or laced with ingredients harmful to users’ health.
In 2015, the US government temporarily labelled some types of synthetic cannabinoids, which the appellant imported, as Schedule I drugs that have ‘no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse’ until more information is known about it.
A DEA report stated that ‘the abuse of these substances for their psychoactive properties is concerning’ and that they pose a serious risk to the user.
“As abusers obtain these drugs through unknown sources, the identity and purity of these substances is uncertain and inconsistent, thus posing significant adverse health risks to users,” read the DEA report.
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