Drug trial adjourned

The First High Criminal Court has adjourned the case of a Bangladeshi national, who attempted to smuggle narcotics into the Kingdom earlier this year in jars of pickles, to August 5, 2019, while he remains under police custody. According to court files, the defendant hid more than 2,870 narcotic pills inside “jars of pickled mangoes”. He was caught while entering the Kingdom through Bahrain International Airport in May.

A customs official became suspicious after noticing “strange objects” inside the suspect’s baggage while it was being scanned on the X-Ray device. Further inspection showed that he, the defendant, had hidden over 2,870 pills weighing 280.9 grammes inside one of his bags. According to the officer’s testimony, the pills were professionally hidden inside blue nylon bags that were wrapped inside of jars of pickled mangoes. The man was immediately arrested and referred to the Public Prosecution.

While being interrogated by the Public Prosecutors, the defendant didn’t deny possessing the jars. He denied knowing of what was inside them, claiming that his neighbour in Bangladesh had requested him to deliver a package to his son-in-law, who apparently works here. “I was told that the package that I was supposed to deliver consisted of two T-shirts and two pairs of trousers,” the defendant told prosecutors.

He denied having any knowledge about the “jars of pickles”. However, he also provided the number of the so-called sonin-law of his neighbour, but the line was disconnected when the authorities attempted to call it. On May 7, 2019, the Public Prosecution accused the man of attempting to smuggle narcotic pills (methamphetamine) through Bahrain International Airport and referred him to the First High Criminal Court for trial.