Woman who smuggled hashish in underwear loses appeal

TDT | Manama

A woman who attempted to smuggle drugs into the Kingdom by hiding it in her underwear had her punishment upheld yesterday by the Supreme Criminal Court of Appeal.

The woman was among three defendants arrested last year for their involvement in trafficking, selling and abusing hashish. Court files showed that the appellant was arrested upon arrival at the Bahrain side of King Fahad Causeway.

The woman raised the suspicion of Customs Affairs officers as she showed obvious confusion and was nervous, as stated in the officers’ testimonies. Additionally, police dogs continued barking at her, raising more doubts.

Policewomen were called to check the appellant and inspect her belongings. Initially, nothing illegal was found in her possession, but, intensified inspection led to the detection of a piece of hashish wrapped and concealed in her underwear.

Customs Affairs immediately referred the woman to the Anti-Narcotics Department in the Interior Ministry to continue the legal procedures. In the department’s interrogation, the woman confessed that she smuggled the drugs for the second defendant in return for BD400.

Further investigation showed that the second defendant employed the woman to pick up pieces of hashish from a GCC national abroad, and deliver it to him hereafter smuggling it through King Fahad Causeway.

The second defendant was caught while hiding in the house of a mutual friend (the third defendant). That third defendant told prosecutors that the second defendant told him that their female friend was arrested while attempting to smuggle the drugs.

He added that the second defendant requested to hide in his house for a couple of days to avoid arrest. The first and second defendants were previously sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and fined BD5,000 each for drug trafficking.

The third defendant received a lighter sentence of six months in jail and was fined BD100 after he was convicted of drugs abuse.