Four Indian expats, three men and one woman who allegedly dealt in drugs and psychedelic substances, are set to learn their fate later this month, with a verdict scheduled for March 25.
The suspects include a 26-year-old salesman from Gudaibiya, a 21-year-old labourer from Aali, a 26-year-old labourer from Salmabad and a 39-year-old female accountant whose address was not revealed.
Last year, the expats were caught in possession of nacotics with intent to sell hashish, crystal meth, known locally as shabu, and marijuana.
According to an official from the Anti-Narcotics Directorate, the authorities received an anonymous tip about the group’s activities.
It organised a sting operation by contacting the 21-year-old and setting up a time and place to meet, asking the accused to prepare some hashish and shabu worth around BD200.
Directorate detectives agreed to meet the labourer at his home. They rendezvoused at an agreed time and place and the accused unknowingly led an officer to his apartment.
Once inside, the accused took out nylon bags containing a crystalline substance assumed to be shabu. He informed him that he would have to meet his 26-year-old co-accused to receive the hashish.
After the exchange was complete, he led the officer outside, who gave the signal to his colleagues to spring into action.
They immediately arrested the alleged dealer and found another nylon bag containing a crystalline substance in his clothing, later confirmed to be about 1.67 grams of shabu.
Court documents revealed that a search of his apartment uncovered a sensitive electronic scale, glass bottles and a number of nylon bags.
The officers then went to the residence of the 26-year-old in Salmabad after receiving a warrant from the Public Prosecution.
They spotted him outside his place of residence and immediately proceeded to arrest him and search him and his property for evidence.
He was found to be carrying a bag of herbal substance, later confirmed to be 10.5 grams of hashish. In his home, they also found nylon bags containing a crystalline substance, confirmed to be about 64 grams of shabu in total, along with a 34 grams worth of a liquid substance predicted to be Cannabidiol (CBD), a glass bottle and a book of accounts.
They found more evidence and substances in his bedroom, and upon interrogation, the accused admitted that it belonged to the 26-year-old salesman.
The accused was made to contact the salesman, and ask for hashish. The officers then proceeded to the salesman’s residence in Gudaibiya to arrest him after receiving a warrant from the Public Prosecution.
They spotted the 26-year-old outside his residence and proceeded to arrest him, and found an undisclosed amount of cash, predicted to have been a result of dealing in drugs.
Along with the hashish, they found a number of empty nylon bags, a knife, and some marijuana.
When they inspected his residence, they found the female accountant inside in an ‘abnormal condition’.
All the accused have been referred to Public Prosecution for trial at the court.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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