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FOUR Bahraini men have been sentenced at the High Criminal Court to life in prison for smuggling more than 350kg of hashish and three others will spend 10 years behind bars.
The court heard that the defendants, who were also each fined BD5,000, were in correspondence with the leader of a narcotics-smuggling network based in Iran, who supplied them with large quantities of cannabis.
He reportedly sent them co-ordinates in the middle of Bahrain’s territorial waters where they could pick up the illicit cache from Iranian individuals, then distribute and re-sell the drugs once they returned home.
Of the four men who received 25-year prison sentences yesterday, two lived in Hidd and did the majority of the legwork, the court heard. One of them owned a boat and could sail to the remote pick-up spots.
Another was a business owner who used his popular grills restaurant as cover for his illicit activities.
Six Bahrainis, including two brothers, were accused by prosecutors of possessing and selling hashish and a 19-year-old Moroccan stood trial alongside them on charges of using drugs.
A 48-year-old retiree from Hidd was also charged with possessing synthetic cannabinoids (CBD) and methamphetamine for personal use.
Another defendant, a 30-year-old machinist, was acquitted of using diazepam (Valium) and pregabalin (Lyrica).
The North African teenager received a one-year-prison sentence along with a BD2,000 fine for using hashish, meth and alprazolam (Xanax), and has already been deported to her home country.
The network was active from 2021 until they were caught in 2024, the court heard.
“An officer at the Anti-Narcotics Directorate had received a tip from informants about an organised network that imported and sold narcotics from Iran to Bahrain,” read the verdict. “The network was headed by a man named ‘Ali’, who operated in Iran, and was aided by defendants who received monetary compensation for their help.
“After picking up the shipments at sea, they hid them away with the help of their co-defendant. Then, they sold the cache in stages to another defendant, who paid for the drugs and in turn promoted them.
“The first two defendants split the revenue, after sending the leader, Ali, his previously-agreed-upon share.
“The money was sent to Ali through the sixth defendant, exploiting his possession of a commercial registration (CR) for his restaurant.
“His role was to take the revenue generated from selling the drugs, circulating it around in bank accounts belonging to his businesses, and eventually transferring money to accounts under the control of Ali.”
More than 350kg of drugs were brought over to Bahrain in three sea-bound exchanges, according to investigators.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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