Postal X-ray scan exposes 3kg drug shipment

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Two men have been charged with importing and possessing drugs for sale after a suspicious parcel was intercepted during inspection at the postal section. The High Criminal Court has scheduled sentencing for 17 March and ordered that both remain in custody.

Prosecutors said the case dates back to 2025, when a customs officer scanning mail with an X-ray machine noticed a dense and unusual image inside a parcel.

The first defendant later arrived to collect the package, accompanied by the second man. According to prosecutors, he told officers he was picking it up on behalf of the person whose name was on the parcel and signed the collection form.

When officers opened the parcel, they found 21 packets of food and household items. Hidden inside them was about three kilogrammes of what investigators believe to be narcotic herbal substances, concealed in a way designed to avoid detection. The case file states that the first defendant broke down in tears and apologised when the drugs were discovered.

Both men were arrested and taken for questioning. Prosecutors said the first defendant admitted he had acted on instructions from an Asian national in his home country and had been promised BD1,500 to collect the parcel.

Investigators also said he used another person’s name, address and identity details to receive the package after misleading him into believing the information was needed to collect personal items. The man whose details were used later told police he had shared his ID copy and personal information so the defendant could collect what he thought were belongings sent by relatives, and that he had no knowledge of the drugs.

Further investigations linked the shipment to an organised group suspected of trafficking drugs for profit, with other individuals still unidentified. Authorities said the victim’s identity had been used without his knowledge or consent.

During questioning by the Public Prosecution, the first defendant admitted collecting and signing for the parcel as part of an agreement with an unknown person and acknowledged involvement in promoting drugs in the country, according to the case file.

The court is expected to deliver its verdict on 17 March.