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An expatriate ‘half-a-dinar’ drugs peddler, who received free board and lodgings, pocket money and a supply for his own personal use, was allegedly discovered distributing supplies of narcotics using ‘dead drop’ locations, a court heard.
‘Dead mail’ or ‘dead drops’ are a method of drug distribution that involves hiding, or sometimes burying, narcotics in a pre-determined spot for a buyer to later pick up.
The 22-year-old Pakistani defendant appeared before the High Criminal Court, where he faces charges of possessing methamphetamine, hashish joints and unregulated CBD oil for the purposes of selling it.
The man was apprehended in a block in Gudaibiya known to be a popular location for narcotics dealing, a policeman earlier testified to the Public Prosecution.
The Anti-Narcotics Directorate officer had received a report of illicit activities in the area and set up a task force. A team of officers monitored the area for suspicious goings-on.
“We observed the defendant in a dubious state, having been seen placing something in the ground then taking a photo of it,” the officer stated.
“After he left, we went to check the object and saw that it contained, what we believed to be, marijuana, and we picked it up as evidence.
“The defendant was arrested soon after. We searched his residence, in which we found three transparent bags containing crystallised meth.”
He added that 13 ‘joints’ were found, along with bags filled with a liquid ‘drug substance’ and a plastic bag containing marijuana.
A total of 65 units of an unspecified drug were also found, hidden ‘expertly’ in a plastic container at the bottom of the kitchen sink of his accommodation in Hoora, he added.
Materials for sales of narcotics, including an orange-coloured notebook for record keeping, small bags for packaging and two sensitive scales for dividing up drugs, were allegedly spotted in the property too.
According to the prosecution, the defendant admitted to promoting the sale of hashish and joints, and stated that he was given drugs to sell in three instalments, totalling at 230g of meth and 500g of hashish.
He was reportedly approached by an individual known simply as ‘Sayyid’, six weeks prior to his arrest, who recruited him into the drug distribution operation, the court heard.
The Pakistani recounted that he would make 10 dead drops per day, and did around a 100 in total, receiving 500fils for each hidden package.
The mysterious ‘Sayyid’, however, also reportedly paid the defendant’s rent, gave him money whenever he asked, and allowed him to take from the merchandise for his own recreational use.
Judges are set to make a ruling in the case later this month.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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