JEDDAH — The Penal Court is putting nine suspects under trial for the smuggling of hashish into Briman Prison using drones. The general attorney said investigations of the hashish smuggling attempt using a drone resulted in arresting nine suspects, two of whom are prison guards suspected of cooperating with the other suspects. "The leader of the gang has is a drug lord with a previous criminal record. He was previously sentenced to 15 years in prison for being involved in drug deals and public fights. He was released six years ago and he returned to drug dealing immediately. I think he should receive the death sentence," said the general attorney. He added the prison guards are just as involved as the other suspects because they were aware of the operation but did not report it to the authorities and have also helped the gang smuggle hashish by offering logistic guidance of the interior of the prison. "The investigators have reached out to the vendor of the drone who was a Lebanese man. The vendor confirmed that the drones used in the operation were purchased from him. He said that the drones were made in China and that he has been selling that model for a year," said the general attorney. He added the vendor said the drones are sold for SR5,000 each and each of them weighs around 400 kg. "The vendor also said the drones have a camera with a lens that shoots a range of 300 meters long and 500 meters wide. The vendor also reported that a man from Riyadh bought three of these drones from him. The vendor's answer seemed suspicious and on further questioning confessed later that he had sold 13 of these drones to the man in the span of eight months," said the general attorney. The vendor also said that he would import the drones from Dubai or the United States to meet the demands of the buyers, the general attorney said. "The vendor said he had no idea what the drones were used for. He said that he thought the buyer was re-selling the drones. The buyer bought from a drone for SR6,200 on the first purchase. Then the same buyer bought two drones for SR13,000, before buying six drones for SR25,000," said the general attorney. He also said the investigations include the testimony of an inmate who reported that he heard and saw six of the drones fly over the prison. "The inmate reported that he noticed one of the prison guards would go to a certain spot whenever a drone flew by. The inmate said the drone and the guard would disappear from his sight to the other side of the prison's building. After reading through the case's report, I recommend that the other eight suspects be sentenced to lashings and imprisonment for breaking the law," said the general attorney. He added that the drones and the suspects' cellphones should be seized and non-Saudi suspects should be exiled from the country while Saudi suspects should be banned from travel for the rest of their lives.
