QATAR: DRUG TRAFFICKER SENTENCED TO DEATH

March 14, 2013: In Qatar, a bench of the  Doha Criminal Court has unanimously sentenced a drug trafficker to death, either by the firing squad or by hanging, and  his accomplice to life in prison  for having smuggled into the country 600kg of hashish and opium in a speedboat, according to a report in the local Arabic daily Al Sharq. They have also been asked to pay a fine of QR500,000 and QR300,000 respectively.
The report said that the second accused had agreed to rent his speedboat to the first accused for QR5,000 on the understanding that they both will set out for a fishing trip after sunset. When they proceeded as per programme the first accused took control of the boat and headed to an island where he stopped and asked his companion to help him in carrying bags of flour that were lying buried under the ground. The latter got suspicious and refused to co-operate but the former took out his firearm and threatened to kill him as a result of which the latter had to obey. Then they sailed towards another deserted island and while they were waiting there they were accosted by the coast guards who had been following them on the basis of the intelligence reports.
When the two were asked about the reasons for their being there in such wee hours the first accused said that one engine of the boat had to be repaired. When the officers asked the two accomplices to come along with them in their boat the first accused resisted and drew out his firearm but he was soon overpowered by the officers.
The prosecution in its charge sheet said that the first accused was a known criminal in drug trafficking. He had managed to escape from the coast guards in an earlier trip in which he had delivered 600kg of hashish and opium into the country to wilfully destroy the  youth of this country.
And this second trip was planned by both the accused and the reason for their waiting at the second island was that they were expecting a consignment of contraband to be delivered to them.
The judges of the Criminal Court unanimously observed that this harsh verdict to both the accused should serve as a strong deterrent for anyone  who may embark on such a dangerous adventure. (Sources: gulf-times.com, 14/03/2013)