Three on trial for smuggling marijuana

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

The High Criminal Court has opened the trial of three Asian nationals accused of attempting to smuggle more than three kilograms of marijuana into Bahrain by concealing the drugs inside a suitcase.

The hearing was adjourned to September 22 to allow the court to hear the defendants’ pleas. According to case files, customs officers at Bahrain International Airport intercepted a suspicious suitcase belonging to the first defendant.

The bag, which had been delayed for eight days after his arrival, contained green herbal material later confirmed through forensic analysis to be marijuana.

Investigations indicated that the defendant had been recruited by the second and third accused, alleged members of an organised drug trafficking network overseen by an individual based in another Asian country.

Customs officers testified that the suitcase appeared suspicious during scanning, and upon inspection, more than three kilograms of marijuana were discovered.

The Public Prosecution said the first defendant admitted to possession of the drugs, with laboratory tests confirming traces of cannabis in his system. Images of suspected narcotics were also retrieved from his mobile phone.