High Court of Appeal overturns woman’s drug smuggling acquittal

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

A woman who told police she had come to Bahrain to see her husband has been jailed for five years after the High Court of Appeal overturned a decision that had spared her punishment for smuggling methamphetamine.

The court also imposed a fine of BD3,000 and ordered her deportation once her sentence is complete.

The Public Prosecution had challenged the earlier verdict, arguing she did not meet the legal bar for leniency.

Customs officers found the drug, which is banned under Bahraini law, during a search of her luggage after she arrived at Bahrain International Airport from abroad.

She denied knowing anything about it and said she was in the country to reunite with her husband, who lives locally.

She gave police his details and he was tracked down for questioning. He also denied any link to the drugs.

Prosecutors charged her with importing and possessing a psychoactive substance with intent to sell in circumstances not permitted by law.

The man was charged with aiding and abetting.

The lower court sentenced him to five years in prison, imposed a BD3,000 fine, and ordered his deportation.

It let the woman off, citing her cooperation with police and the information she gave about the man.

That ruling was brought before the Court of Appeal, which found the woman’s assistance to be insufficient.