Toy washing machine packed with drugs leads to arrest

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

A toy washing machine stuffed with clay and hiding 439 psychotropic tablets led to the arrest of a man in his twenties after a Bahraini couple spotted a puzzling delivery.

At the High Criminal Appeals Court, the young man — of Asian nationality — received a fiveyear prison sentence, a BD3,000 fine, and an order to leave the country after serving his term.

The court ruled that the package, which had been received from a delivery company, was addressed to him.

The case began when a Bahraini man reported that his wife’s online order for cosmetics had instead arrived as a large parcel filled with children’s toys.

Curiosity

Out of curiosity, he inspected the package and found a plastic washing machine toy that felt unusually heavy.

Noticing a loose screw, he opened it and discovered a hidden bundle. This discovery led him to notify the Drug Control Directorate.

On examining the package, officers found the suspect’s name on it.

Inside were small nylon packets filled with clay, concealing 439 tablets that tests later confirmed were psychotropic substances.

Further inquiry revealed that the man had arranged for the shipment with the intention of distributing the tablets in Bahrain.

Custody

When he turned up to sign for the delivery, he was taken into custody and his residence searched.

In questioning, he admitted to an arrangement with a partner to pass on the tablets to a young woman in Bahrain.

A search of his mobile phone uncovered messages containing images of items thought to be drugs, a marked location near a roundabout, and a video clip showing what appeared to be the tablets.