A young former convict is on trial for allegedly smuggling spiked vape juice over the Bahrain-Saudi border by concealing it in containers of motor oil, the High Criminal Court heard yesterday.
The 24-year-old man reportedly imported the synthetic cannabinoids (CBD oil) by ordering it from Vietnam via airmail, then transporting it from Saudi to Bahrain over the causeway.
The Bahraini defendant has been charged with possessing CBD oil with the intention of selling it, as well as possessing illicit stimulants for recreational use.
“We learned of the defendant through an informant, who reported his activities to us,” a policeman who was involved in the investigation earlier testified.
“We obtained a warrant from the Public Prosecution to arrest the man, and we carried out a sting operation to catch him in the act.
“The informant arranged the purchase of the liquid narcotic from the suspect for BD100, and he was apprehended once the sale was completed.”
The officer added that upon searching his home, a total of 1,224gm of CBD oil was found, in addition to 152 capsules of Lyrica (pregabalin).
In his room, officers also allegedly found BD2,901 in cash, 1,770 Saudi riyals and receipts of wire transfers to Vietnam worth BD1,250 and $4,500 (BD1,700).
The young man reportedly confessed that the items in the room all belonged to him, and that he did indeed send money to Vietnam and received the narcotics in return.
After ordering the contraband, the man allegedly travelled to Saudi Arabia to collect it, and hid it in seemingly-innocuous e-cigarette cartridges and even motor oil canisters.
Among the evidence against the defendant, presented to the court by the Public Prosecution, were text messages and chat logs that included images of dead drop locations and BenefitPay transfer receipts.
‘Dead mail’ or ‘dead drops’ are a method of drug distribution that involves hiding, or sometimes burying, the narcotics in a pre-determined spot for a buyer to later pick up.
The ex-convict defendant is being tried as a ‘repeat offender’, having earlier been sentenced to two years in prison on drug charges.
In Bahraini law, having an offence on record that is the same as the crime of which one is charged is considered an aggravating circumstance and leads to harsher sentencing. The trial continues.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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