500KG HASHISH SEIZED IN RAID ON BOAT OFF BUDAIYA

A massive haul of 500kg of hashish was seized by Bahrain's coastguard when
they raided a boat off the coast of Budaiya early yesterday. Three men -
two Bahrainis and one Saudi - were arrested and are now in custody after
the 3.30am raid.

The drugs were found in seven large nylon bags and one smaller one during a
search of the Bahraini-owned boat, said a report in our sister paper Akhbar
Al Khaleej.

One of the two Bahraini suspects claimed the drugs belonged to another
Saudi man. He said they were intending to smuggle the hashish to Saudi in
exchange for a sum of money.

Bahrain authorities will now seek the Saudi suspect's extradition in
co-ordination with Interpol. The other three suspects will remain in
custody for seven days pending investigations.

The seized drugs will be taken to the General Prosecution headquarters
today to be weighed and registered as evidence.

The raid follows a similar incident in which the coastguard seized 129kg of
hashish from a boat in Bahrain waters last week. Three Bahrainis were taken
into custody.