Asian gets 10 years in jail for robbing passengers at airport

The First High Criminal Court yesterday announced its verdict in the case involving an Asian man, who drugged passengers at Bahrain International Airport (BIA) before robbing them. The court sentenced the man, who was kept in detention since last November, to 10 years imprisonment followed by permanent deportation.

According to court files, the crime was discovered when Bahrain International Airport Police detected three Asian passengers in the terminal while they were in an unusual mental state and hallucinating. Footage captured by surveillance cameras showed that the three passengers spoke to the same person, the defendant, who offered all of them drinks. Further investigations proved that the man would offer his victims a cup of tea after stealthily dropping drugs in it.

The drugs were intended to put the victims to sleep so that the man could easily steal their valuable belongings. The cameras also captured the defendant transferring money and booking a flight to a neighbouring GCC country. Police arrested the man while he was getting onboard the plane. When searched, police found amounts of cash and sleeping pills on the defendant’s possession. He claimed that the victims willingly gave him the money so he could exchange it for them.

On November 18, 2018, the Public Prosecution accused the man of robbing the victims and attempting to escape from the country. He was also accused of possessing and consuming drugs. The Prosecution referred him to the First High Criminal Court after completing the interrogation and order to keep him in custody.