Appeal rejected in 350kg hashish smuggling case

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

A drug trafficker has lost his challenge to a life sentence after the High Criminal Court ruled that his opposition to an earlier in absentia judgment had no legal basis.

The court confirmed the original ruling jailing him for life for his role, with six others including a woman, in forming a cross-border network that moved narcotic drugs into Bahrain by sea.

Judges stated that the defendant had not advanced any new legal arguments against the conviction or sentence, so his opposition was treated as though it had never been filed.

According to the case file, the investigation began after information from secret sources pointed to a group importing narcotic substances from outside Bahrain.

Network

The network was led by a man based in an Arab country who dealt with contacts inside Bahrain to bring in drugs and psychotropic substances and then sell them for trafficking purposes.

Investigations found that the first and second defendants worked for the head of the network in return for money.

They went out into Bahrain’s territorial waters, met members of the group on the high seas at pre-agreed coordinates and received consignments of drugs.

Batches

These were handed over in batches to the third defendant, who paid them and then handled local distribution.

Enquiries showed that the total quantity brought in was about 350 kilogrammes of hashish, received in several shipments.

Further investigation indicated that, between 2021 and 2023, all the defendants except the seventh formed a criminal gang that imported narcotic substances into Bahrain via the sea route.