Drug Smuggling, Counterfeiting and Money Laundering
Almotamar.net - On charges of bringing, exporting and transporting quantities of narcotics and hashish as well as money laundering, the Yemeni Specialised Criminal Court began Tuesday the trial of 16 defendants among them a Kuwaiti army captain and his son, at large, in addition to another defendant.
At the court sitting chaired by Judge Muhsin Alwan, Head of the First Instance Court and attended by the defence of the defendants, the prosecution accused the 16 defendants, among them two Kuwaitis, of transporting large quantities of narcotics and importing them for the purpose of trafficking and marketing among people and also export some of them across borders of the state. The prosecution said security apparatuses seized one ton and 106 kg of hashish in possession of the accused persons.
The accusation statement included that the group conducted laundering of money gained through trafficking the drugs in their possession in order to buy properties and receiving the money transfers for the purpose of concealing and camouflaging the sources despite their knowledge they are illegitimate. The charges also included the possession of forged Saudi money amounting to 789700 riyals.
When the cour
t asked the defendants their reply to the charges against them they denied them and requested photocopying files of the case, except for the third defendant who confessed the charges against him.
On the other hand the court decided its sitting to next Tuesday.
Security authorities had last February arrested the accused and caught in their possession the above quantities of narcotics, forged currencies and 24 different cars.
The Specialized Penal Court, presided over by Judge Muhsin Alwan held a session to try 16 suspected drug dealers. They were accused of possessing a ton of drugs and producing and circulating 786,000 forged Saudi Rials. The suspected persons are: Ismail Yahiya Ismail, Hussein Rashid Ali al-Obab, Ali Abdullah Ahmed Ja’dar, Salem Mohammed Abdullah ba-Qadha’, al-Humaidi Hamad Sa’di al-Ajal, a Kuwaiti national, Adnan Hamad Sa’di al-Ajal, a fugitive, Sadiq Mohammed al-Sharafi, a fugitive, Abdulmajeed Ahmed Abdulmajeed al-Salafi, Mohammed Ahmed Kush, Ahmed Ali Salem al-A’mri, Ali Hussein Abdul-Kader ba Hussein, Faroq Ali Abdullah Ma’odhah, Basher Saleh Muhsin al-Qarmoshi, Ibrahim Suleiman Saeed al-Dubali.
The prosecution alleged that the first and second suspects trafficked a large amount of narcotics, both domestically and for export.
1160 kilograms of hashish, manufactured abroad was caught with them, in addition to a set of cd’s. The 3rd to 12th suspects were accused of trafficking different amounts of drugs at various times and places. The first, fifth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and fourteenth suspects were accused of money laundering drug sale proceeds. They used the sums to buy cars, diamonds and weapons.
They established trade facilities and contract activities, and were adept at disguising the illicit nature of their income.
