Jail inmate acquitted of having drug pills in bed
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 15: The Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Nayef Al-Dahoum and joined by Judge Sabri Ramadan Jaafar and Judge Abdulaziz Saad Al-Saqabi, acquitted an individual who was accused of possessing the psychotropic substance 'methamphetamine' with intent of using it and smuggling it into Central Prison. However, the court ordered the confiscation of the seized items. According to the incident officer's report, on the day of the incident, the control and support squad searched the public prison. While searching the accused's bed, they found two round pills and a third pill broken in half, all beige in color, which were suspected to be psychotropic substances.
When questioned by the Public Prosecution, the accused denied the charges, claiming that he was sleeping when police officers woke him and the other inmates and asked them to leave the ward. The authorities later informed them that the seized items had been found outside the area near his bed and denied any connection to them. The defendant's legal counsel Lawyer Bashar Al-Nassar insisted that the incident officer had overstepped his legal authority and violated both the Code of Procedure and Prisons Law in handling the case. Lawyer Al-Nassar explained that the arrest and search were unlawful. The officer claimed to have found the two pills under his client's pillow.
The bed and pillow were personal items, which could only be searched with a warrant or in the case of a red-handed offense. Therefore, the search of his client's belongings was invalid, and its results should be deemed invalid as well. He also denied any connection between his client and the seized items, highlighting that the police officer had testified before the prosecution that the cell, where his client was held, contained about 40 inmates, with doubledecker beds. This arrangement made it easy for any inmate to access another's bed and place items there. Lawyer Al-Nassar indicated that, when the officer entered the area, another prisoner might have disposed of the pills and placed them under his client's pillow. As a result, the court concluded that the arrest and search were unlawful due to a violation of the Code of Procedure and Prisons Law, as the search was conducted without a warrant and the occurrence of a flagrant crime.
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