An air mail package of cat food and supplies, arriving from Canada, contained a concealed shipment of marijuana, a court heard.
A 26-year-old Indian man is on trial at the High Criminal Court for allegedly importing the narcotic herb with the intention to promote and sell it in Bahrain.
According to the Public Prosecution, the hashish weighed a total of 2.585kg and was packaged in a vacuum-sealed bag, stashed away between feline care products.
A Customs officer, who detected the alleged smuggling attempt, testified that he was suspicious of the package during a scan of incoming mail.
The case was handed over to the Anti-Narcotics Directorate, which arrested the defendant when he came to pick up his mail.
Prosecutors allege that the Indian was part of a drug importing ring, and that the merchandise was distributed through the dead mail method.
Police seized his phone, reportedly uncovering text messages and conversations containing locations and descriptions of the dead drops, along with photos of narcotics placed on a digital scale.
‘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.
Judges have set September 16 as the date to issue a verdict in the criminal trial.
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