An expatriate has been sentenced to a decade behind bars for dealing in multiple drugs including hashish, synthetic cannabinoids and methamphetamine, known locally as shabu.
The 33-year-old Pakistani national was also fined BD5,000 by the High Criminal Court after it found him guilty of dealing in the substances since last year.
According to court documents, an officer from the Anti-Narcotics Directorate received information about a man dealing in multiple illicit and psychedelic substances using the dead drop method.
It involves individuals exchanging items or information at a prearranged, secret location without direct contact.
Most of the deals were allegedly done in Riffa’s Block 913 and 917 areas.
An investigation was launched to confirm the authenticity of the information received, and a task force was put together to monitor the defendant’s movements in the area.
On February 13, officers tracked down the defendant and saw him walking around in a small garden. They saw him dropping something near a pot, and moving again, unaware that he was being watched by the authorities.
One of the officers inspected the pot and found a transparent bag filled with a crystalline substance that was later confirmed to be shabu.
They followed the defendant who proceeded to a building in Block 917. They then sprang into action and identified themselves to the accused before arresting him.
An inspection of his belongings revealed two more bags of crystalline substances, believed to be shabu, hidden in the pockets of his trousers, in addition to BD274 in cash, believed to be proceeds from dealing in the substances.
They also investigated his residence and found five pieces of herbal substances of different sizes, thought to be hashish, another bag of crystalline substance, two weighing scales, unused plastic bags, a notebook and sticky tape. The drugs were reportedly hidden inside a white flask.
Further investigations revealed that the man also dealt in synthetic cannabinoids.
On interrogation by the Public Prosecution, the defendant admitted to dealing in multiple illicit and psychedelic substances including hashish and shabu using dead drop method.
He claimed that he had an agreement with a fellow Pakistani national, from whom he would receive about 2kg of drugs every month. He further said that he was given a number of dead drop locations around the kingdom, and paid 700 Pakistani Rupees (around BD0.930) for each gramme of narcotics delivered successfully.
Laboratory results, meanwhile, proved that the seized substances were indeed hashish and shabu.
An inspection of the defendant’s phone revealed a number of conversations, photos and videos of the substances, geographic locations and images of public places.
He was referred for trial at the High Criminal Court, which sentenced him to 10 years behind bars.
Judges also ordered his deportation upon the completion of his sentence.
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