Five-year jail sentence upheld for drug peddler, issued BD3,000 fine

TDT | Manama

The Cassation Court, Bahrain’s highest court, has upheld the jail sentence issued against a young Bahraini man for promoting illegal drug use, while approving the BD3,000 fine issued against him in the process. The defendant was arrested in the company of two women, his co-defendants, one of whom was a fellow-citizen and the other a Gulf national.

The women were both tried with the male defendant and were found guilty of drug abuse. The Bahraini man received a five-year prison sentence, which has been upheld, while the Bahraini woman was given a oneyear jail term. The Gulf woman, on the other hand, was sentenced to six months in prison, after which she will be deported and be banned from re-entering the country for three years.

Meanwhile, the Bahraini woman was also slapped with a BD1,000 fine while her female co-defendant received a BD100 penalty. The Bahraini man was exposed after police received a tip of his activities, after which an arrest warrant was issued against him.

Anti-narcotics squads broke into his home, at which time the trio were inside and were already not in normal condition having used the drugs in their possession. Police officers confirmed this after performing drug tests.

The officers found that the male defendant had with him various types of narcotics and he later admitted that they were for personal consumption as well as peddling. The two women, however, insisted that they were only drug users and that they had never participated in any form of illegal drug trade. They also revealed that they were getting the drugs from their male co-defendant.