Drug smuggler’s sentence upheld

The First Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday rejected the appeal of a Bahraini man convicted of smuggling two kg of hashish into the Kingdom through King Fahad Causeway and upheld the previous sentence issued against him.

The man was earlier sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and to pay a BD5,000 fine in a case that involved two others. The second defendant in the case received a lighter sentence for co-operating with the police, while the third man was acquitted.  

Court files showed that the appellant had agreed with the second defendant to smuggle the substance into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia through King Fahad Causeway in return of BD1,000. The latter then agreed with the third defendant to transport him from the neighbouring Kingdom, apparently without informing him about the drugs. The duo was caught on the Bahraini side of the Causeway, where Customs personnel searched their car and discovered the piece hidden in the vehicle.

The second defendant confessed during the interrogation that the confiscated substance belonged to him and that he was transporting it into Bahrain for the first defendant, the appellant. He led the police to the appellant’s residence, from where he was arrested.

The second defendant also informed the police that the third defendant wasn’t aware of any details related to the drugs. The court previously sentenced the first defendant to 15 years imprisonment and fined him BD5, 000 for smuggling drugs with the intent of trafficking. The second defendant was sentenced to one year, while the third was acquitted.