Indian gets life term in Doha

An Indian has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Doha for smuggling 59 kgs of hashish from Iran.

An Indian and two others have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Doha and fined Rs 36.3 lakh each for smuggling 59 kgs of hashish from Iran into the gulf state.

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The Qatari Criminal Court of Justice on Monday issued the sentence after holding them guilty of smuggling a quantity of drugs weighing between 50 to 120 kilos into Qatar on a motor boat from Iran in August last year.

The three men, all in their thirties, were arrested at sea by a drug squad and the coastguard police about two miles off Al Huwailah in the north of Qatar, while carrying the narcotics on a speedboat.

As police closed in on the smugglers, they threw the drugs into the sea.

After an exchange of fire the suspects reached the shore.

One of them managed to escape to Bahrain, where he was arrested and later extradited to Qatar.