Harbouring fugitives in a Bani Jamra flat has landed a trio of Bahrainis behind bars in the kingdom.

The men, aged 20, 27 and 33, were sentenced to three years in jail by the High Criminal Court yesterday (January 29) after being found guilty of running a house that sheltered at least 13 fugitives, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

According to court documents, 13 fugitives who had sought refuge in the flat were later intercepted aboard a 29-foot speedboat that was spotted 16km off Bahrain's coast heading towards Iran on December 28, 2013.

A joint operation conducted by the Royal Bahrain Naval Force and the Interior Ministry, which involved a high-speed Coastguard and helicopter chase, saw all 13 arrested and their belongings seized'”including passports, different currencies, mobile phones and clothes.

One of the men, a 22-year-old Saudi who was wanted by the police in connection with the attempted murder of policemen, earlier told prosecutors that his 33-year-old co-defendant had been at the controls of the speedboat.

“I received a call from one of my friends who told me that we were going to get help to make a break for Iran,” he said.

“So I met up with the rest of the group and we were taken to an apartment in Bani Jamra. We were later taken in two vehicles to the Karranah coast.

“A 33-year-old businessman then piloted a speedboat from the coast towards Fisht Al Jarem island, but we noticed that a police helicopter was following us.”

The Saudi said that it was at this point that the Coastguard gave chase, crashing into their speedboat after about half an hour and forcing them to grind to a halt.

Authorities said that after inspecting a GPS device found on the speedboat, it showed that it had previously sailed to Iran on December 12 and 13, 2013.

Pictures of the GPS maps were attached to court documents as evidence.

Defence lawyers said that they will lodge appeals against their clients' convictions at the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court. - TradeArabia News Service