Drug smugglers’ life Sentences upheld

Manama

Three persons convicted of drug smuggling had their life sentences upheld.The accused were tried after retrieving 30kg of hashish from the seabed.The drugs were dropped at an offshore location by two Iranian drug-runners, according to court documents.

However, the Iranian nationals were not arrested as they fled the scene after delivering the drugs. The trio was reportedly captured after police received a tip-off about the deal before it took place.

Prosecutors said the coastguard had intercepted the shipment as it was being smuggled to Bahrain by boat, adding the whole operation was surveyed by a police helicopter.

However, the natives pleaded not guilty of smuggling hashish at court. Their lawyers also questioned the validity of the investigation that led to the arrest of the accused, terming it "not serious".

Mervat Janahi, the third accused's lawyer, said earlier the officer who oversaw the investigation process had relied on confidential sources, which lead to the arrest of the accused. "But in the criminal record this wasn't mentioned by prosecutors, and therefore there is a major contradiction," she added in her closing argument.

The High Criminal Court earlier handed them life sentences, and the High Criminal Appeals Court upheld the sentence.