Manama: Bahrain police have seized drugs worth BD375,000 (Dh3.6 million) as they foiled a maritime attempt to smuggle them into the country.
Two Bahrainis were arrested in the operation carried out by the General Directorate of Crime Detection and Forensic Science, in cooperation with the Coast Guard, Police Aviation and various police authorities.
More people were arrested following the launch of an intensive investigation, the general director of Crime Detection and Forensic Science said. The boat was confiscated.
The Anti-Narcotics Directorate was tipped off on the trafficking operation, prompting a maritime deployment of coast guard vessels backed up by Police Aviation in coordination with the Royal Bahrain Naval Force, he said.
The boat was reportedly spotted heading towards Bahrain’s regional waters and its identification was confirmed through the Coast Guard radar.
The boat sailed towards Jadoom Island, where the shipment was unloaded. The confiscated material included 105kg of hashish, 333g of shabu and four bags of Captagon, he added.
The case was referred to the public prosecution.
Bahrain has tightened the monitoring of its coasts to ensure they are not used for any illegal operations.
Last week, the head of the public police said that two terror-linked operations had been foiled at the end of December.
A boat carrying weapons and ammunition that left from Iraq was seized as it entered Bahraini waters, and two Bahraini nationals were arrested.
In the second incident, a boat smuggling out 13 people, including a Saudi national who faced terror charges, was also seized as it was leaving Bahrain clandestinely.
The Bahraini interior minister urged neighbouring countries, without naming them, to increase the monitoring of their lands to ensure they are not exploited for operations to undermine the stability and security of other countries.
