Nine, including foreigners, jailed for importing, selling prohibited materials in Bahrain

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A court has issued verdicts ranging from one to three years in prison against nine defendants, deporting foreigners among them, ordering one of them to pay BD5,000 as fine, and confiscating the prohibited materials and the seized monetary sums, Ministries and Public Entities Prosecution Chief has announced.

The nine suspects stood trial over charges of importing selective goods without paying taxes, importing and selling banned herbal materials, as well as engaging in commercial activities without a license.

Case documents reveal that the Public Prosecution had received a notification from the relevant security authorities, indicating that the suspects had imported cigarettes and herbal materials used as an alternative to smoking tobacco, and hid them from customs officers to evade paying tax.

Upon arrival to the kingdom, the imported materials are transported to warehouses prepared in advance and then distributed and sold in the country.

The Public Prosecution launched an immediate investigation into the matter, questioned the defendants, ordered their remand in custody, seized the materials and the sums obtained from their sale, and referred them to the Lower Criminal Court which issued the aforementioned ruling against them.