Life term for prisoner for attempt to recover drugs

Manama : A prison inmate has been sentenced to life in jail along with a fine of BD20,000 after the High Criminal Court found him guilty of recruiting two persons to recover 23 kilograms of hashish and 700 grams of methamphetamine from the seabed. The two men also stood trial in the case, but received a lighter jail sentence of 7 years in prison each and a fine of BD500 each. According to case files, the 30-year-old mastermind was already serving jail sentence in connection with a drug case. The anti-drug department of the Ministry of Interior received a tip-off saying that the prisoner had assigned two men to recover drugs hidden in tyres in the seabed, according to court files. Police immediately investigated the case and uncovered that the two persons were about to head to the sea to extract the drugs concealed in a restricted sea area. Coast guard officers captured the pair with the drugs, and while they were in police custody the 30-year-old made a video call to one of them asking him about the drugs. Police officers watched the video call which was used as an evidence against the mastermind. The two defendants who recovered the drugs were also charged for entering a restricted area, for which they were handed down six months behind bars each.