Appeal Panel Reduces Sentence in Bahrain Drug Cultivation Case

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

An appeals panel in Bahrain has reduced a prison sentence for a man convicted of drug-related offences, cutting the term from 15 years to 10 while upholding a fine of 5,000 dinars and ordering the confiscation of all seized items.

The ruling amended an earlier verdict that found the defendant guilty of possessing narcotic seeds with intent to trade and consume. During a previous hearing, defence lawyer Dalal Al-Thawadi had requested the acquittal of her client.

Prosecutors said that in 2025 the defendant possessed cannabis seeds for trafficking, as well as Hashish and the psychoactive drug pregabalin for personal use. He was also charged with holding synthetic cannabinoids without legal authorisation.

Investigators from the anti-narcotics department said confidential intelligence indicated that the man was cultivating drugs at his home in preparation for selling and using them. After obtaining legal permission to arrest and search him, officers located the suspect at a police station and later searched his residence and a rented vehicle linked to him.

The searches uncovered mobile phones, sensitive electronic scales, filters, planting pots, electrical equipment and tools believed to be used in growing marijuana, along with bags containing suspected seeds and traces of drugs. Larger bags of cultivation equipment were also found in the trunk of the rented car.

Further investigations concluded that the defendant had converted his home into a cultivation site, smuggling seeds into the country through unknown methods, growing the plants, harvesting the crop and selling it for financial gain.

Laboratory tests by the Ministry of Interior confirmed that the seized items contained Hashish, synthetic Hashish, pregabalin and viable cannabis seeds. Toxicology analysis also found traces of Hashish in the defendant’s urine sample.

A forensic examination of his mobile phone revealed notes related to cultivation, emails requesting seeds and equipment to be shipped secretly to Bahrain, and messages suggesting drug transactions. Images of websites specialising in seeds and cultivation products were also recovered.

Based on the evidence, the appeals panel reduced the prison term while keeping the fine and confiscation orders unchanged.