Witnesses to testify in smuggling trial

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 September 17, 2019, to hear witnesses’ testimonies while ordering to keep the accused under custody. According to court files, the 29-year-old man hid more than 2,870 narcotic pills inside “jars of pickled mangoes” and attempted to smuggle them into the Kingdom.

He was caught while entering the country through Bahrain International Airport last May. At the airport, the Customs Department officer noticed strange objects inside the suspect’s luggage while it was being scanned using the X-Ray device. Further inspection showed that the defendant had hidden 2,870 pills weighing 280.9 grammes inside one of his bags. According to the officer’s testimony, the pills were hidden inside blue nylon bags that were wrapped inside jars carrying pickled mangoes.

The man was immediately arrested and referred to the Public Prosecution. While being interrogated by the prosecutors, the defendant confessed to possessing the jars, but, he denied knowledge 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, denying having any knowledge about the jars of pickles. However, he also provided the number of the so-called son-inlaw of his neighbour, but the line was disconnected when the authorities attempted to contact him.

Tribune reported last month that the Prosecution accused a Bangladeshi national of attempting to smuggle narcotic pills (methamphetamine) through Bahrain International Airport and referred him to the First High Criminal Court for trial on May 7, 2019.