Abdulrahman Al-Ali Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Six witnesses in a drug smuggling case involving Egyptian lawyer Ahmad Al-Jizawi testified against two of his alleged accomplices at the General Court here on Wednesday. The first witness who worked at airport customs in Riyadh denied any relationship with the third defendant, a Saudi national. He said he was on duty when Egyptian national Islam Bakr, the second defendant, arrived at King Khaled International Airport with two bags containing laptops on his shoulder besides other personal effects, including a wooden case for keeping the Holy Qur'an. He said narcotic pills were found in the Qur'an case and the Egyptian was subsequently arrested. The court asked the witness to identify the suspect. He pointed at the Egyptian and said the man was arrested about a year ago. The second witness, who also worked at the airport customs, identified the suspect, who he said had arrived aboard a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight from Cairo. The customs officer inspecting his luggage had seized about 3,000 Xanax tablets, said the witness. The third witness, an anti-drug officer, said the third defendant was arrested when he came out of his house as per directives he received from his department. At the time of his arrest, the Saudi asked the officers if they were apprehending him in connection with the Al-Jizawi case. He requested permission to telephone a security officer in the Ministry of Interior, saying he had important information to convey. The fourth witness, also an anti-drug officer, testified that when he arrested the second defendant he had also asked whether his arrest was in connection with the Al-Jizawi case. The officer replied that he had directives to apprehend him. The fifth witness, an anti-drug officer, said he had instructions to raid the house of the second defendant. The witness could not identify him because he was in prison at the time of the raid. The Saudi and Egyptian lived in the same neighborhood and it was the Saudi who had guided the anti-drug officers to the Egyptian's residence. On raiding the house, the officers had found tablets scattered on the floor and sent them to the lab to determine their composition. They also found remittance receipts and wooden cases similar to the one used in smuggling the pills, the court was told. The sixth witness, who also worked for the anti-narcotics force,testified that he had found narcotic pills scattered in the hall and the bedroom of the house during the search. The judge handed the two defendants copies of the charge sheets and gave them two weeks to present their defense.
