A DIVORCED felon sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined BD5,000 for possessing heroin with the intention to sell it, was ‘recovering from drug use and not selling them’, the court heard.
In June, the 37-year-old Bahraini was found guilty of trading in narcotics by the High Criminal Court, alongside his drug dealer and supplier, a notorious 29-year-old Pakistani kingpin.
The father-of-one was additionally convicted of possessing a suite of recreational drugs for personal use, including hashish, methamphetamine, morphine, tramadol, alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium).
He has taken to the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court to appeal the ruling, and his lawyer told judges that he was ‘mistakenly found guilty’ of trading charges as he was trying to kick his addiction.
“The appellant is on pills that were given to him as an aid to recover from drug use, and he was prescribed the medication by the doctor who oversees his treatment,” the attorney argued.
“Criminal intent has to be present to convict him. It is not enough to simply possess the substances – there has to be material proof that he intended to sell them.
“The prosecution’s case against the appellant lacks evidence to prove criminal intent.”
His defence, which wrote the memo, was appointed just for the appeals process, as his previous attorney has since withdrawn from the case.
His past counsel claimed that he was arrested with an expired arrest warrant, but the argument was not accepted.
The GDN earlier reported that the Bahraini was arrested on drug charges while visiting his girlfriend at the Isa Town Women’s Detention Centre. The prosecution had filed an arrest order against him.
He testified during questioning that he had lost a well-paying job four years ago, gotten a divorce, and had to move back to his parents’ house in Hajiyat when he began promoting narcotics to make a quick buck.
A search warrant was issued by the prosecution, and authorities allege that a search of his vehicle and house revealed a cache of narcotics – 200gm of heroin and more than 30gm of crystal meth.
A hashish joint, a minuscule amount of hashish paste and four capsules of Xanax were also reportedly found. Material for sale and distribution of drugs, including packaging and electronic scales, was seized.
“I would package the heroin based on instructions received from my co-defendant, whom I first encountered on WhatsApp, and began promoting his merchandise,” the ex-con earlier stated.
Traces of morphine, hashish and methamphetamine were reportedly detected in the Bahraini’s urine sample.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani co-defendant was tried in the initial proceedings under aggravating circumstances for being a ‘repeat offender’, as he was just last year sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in wholesale drug trading.
The expat has not appeared in court for the appeal, and it is not known whether he is still in Bahrain, serving his sentence, or if he was deported.
In the initial trial, prosecutors asked the court to apply the whole weight of the law to penalise the defendants, stating that ‘cases like this affect the security of our nation, its citizens and residents’.
Judges have set September 29 as the date to issue a verdict in the case.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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