Butcher loses appeal in drug trafficking case, sentenced to 10 years

TDT | Manama

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A butcher convicted of drug trafficking has lost his appeal and will now serve 10 years in prison, pay a BD5,000 fine, and be deported after completing his sentence. The High Criminal Appeals Court upheld the original ruling and ordered the seizure of case-related items.

The case began when Customs officers at Bahrain International Airport flagged a suspicious parcel from a Gulf country. Though it appeared to contain skincare products, scans revealed a plastic bag hidden inside cream containers. It held a substance weighing just over two kilograms, believed to be drugs.

The first defendant, who arrived to collect the parcel, was arrested on the spot. He was found with BD50, suspected to be proceeds from drug sales. He later told police he had been sent by an unidentified Asian man to collect the package and pass it to someone else.

Officers allowed him to contact his handler while monitoring the call. A plan was made to deliver the parcel to a man called ‘Mutarash’ in Muharraq. Two handover attempts were aborted. On the third try, the man met a second suspect, who took the package and was immediately arrested.

Investigations pointed to a drug network operating from abroad, using locals as mules to collect and drop off postal parcels containing banned substances. The first man acted as a link in the chain, receiving and delivering parcels in exchange for cash and drugs. The second did the same, also admitting to drug use.

A Customs inspector and two anti-drug officers confirmed the sequence of events, recalling how the suspicious parcel was first flagged during routine screening.

During questioning, the butcher confessed to selling and consuming drugs, saying he had collected and dropped off drug-filled parcels in exchange for cannabis. The second man also admitted to handling CBD packages, earning one dinar per delivery.

With both defendants admitting involvement and multiple officers testifying, the court confirmed the seriousness of the offence and upheld the sentence.