The Bahraini Coast Guard seized more than 600kg of hashish and arrested at least five Bahrainis in the last few days, in two separate drug busts.

According to sources, Bahraini authorities yesterday arrested two Bahrainis at sea, on a boat heading to eastern Saudi Arabia, as they attempted to hand over about 500 kg of hashish to a Saudi dealer.

The Coast Guard stopped the boat and confiscated seven large bags of drugs, believed to have arrived from Iran.

Sources told Gulf News that the arrests were made after police received a tip off. Two Bahrainis were arrested on board the boat. The Public Prosecutor Office issued a warrant for a Saudi suspect who had setup a deal with the two to smuggle the drugs into Saudi Arabia.

This was the second large seizure of hashish in Bahrain after Coast Guard officials seized close to 130 kg of it heading to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday in a separate operation.

Police retrieved three out of the six barrels that had been dumped into the sea and three Bahrainis were arrested by the Saudi Arabia police.

Saudi Arabia which implements Sharia law, imposes death sentence on drug smugglers. Last year, the kingdom beheaded 47 persons convicted of
various offences, including drug smuggling.

The writer is a Bahraini journalist based in Manama