Men freed in drug case

A man captured in possession of drugs at the Bahrain International Airport was acquitted yesterday. Two others involved in the case were also freed, but a fourth defendant was held guilty and was slapped with seven years behind bars. He was also fined BD5,000 by the High Criminal Court.

The four men were arrested after their first co-defendant was caught at the Bahrain International Airport while attempting to smuggle marijuana stashed in four slippers.

He was arriving from Dhaka. When Customs officers inspected his bag, they found four slippers in which marijuana was hidden in them. During interrogations, the first defendant stated that he had received the slippers from a countryman who requested him to deliver them to a man (the fourth defendant) in Bahrain. The second, third and fourth defendants were later captured in a sting operation.

It turned out that the fourth defendant was the one who plotted to smuggle the drugs and distribute them across Bahrain. He is said to have agreed with the man in Bangladesh to give the slippers to the first defendant. And then he sent the other two to collect the drugs.

He admitted to his crime during interrogation. So the other three men’s charges were dropped by the court. The convicted defendant was ordered to be deported once he completes his jail term.