Sentence downgraded in drug peddling case

A 26-year-old Bahraini, who smuggled two kg of hashish from Saudi Arabia, has had his life term downgraded to 15 years in jail. 

The defendant was earlier fined BD5,000 for his crime which was reported to police by his father.  And this was confirmed by the appeals court. 

The father informed the authorities after seeing two pieces of hashish in his son’s room. 

The Anti-drug squads inspected the home and arrested the defendant who was initially suspected of consuming drugs only. However, further investigations found that the defendant was in fact a drug smuggler and peddler besides using drugs for recreational purposes. 

The defendant during questioning admitted to smuggling drugs from Saudi, attributing it to financial needs.

“I built an apartment, for which I took a loan. But I spent most of it on drugs. Therefore, I needed extra funds to complete constructing the apartment. I applied for a new loan, but my application was rejected,” the defendant said in his statement.

“I contacted a Saudi friend whom I met in a disco in Bahrain. I asked him to give me hashish to sell it in Bahrain. 

“We met in King Fahd Causeway, and I managed to smuggle it into Bahrain. I sold a quarter kilo gram of hashish for BD400 and another half kilo gram at a cost of BD1,000.”

The defendant was arrested in 2014, and was charged with drug consumption and peddling.