Punishment for drug trafficking in Saudi law
Article 38 of the Anti-Narcotics Law specifies the penalties applicable to an accused who is proven to have committed a drug crime with the intent to promote or traffic, in all its forms, including possession, smuggling, etc. This article also specifies the conditions for increasing the penalty.
Punishment for drug trafficking in Saudi law
Article 38 of the Anti-Narcotics Law
It states that:
1- The penalty shall be imprisonment for a period of not less than five years and not more than fifteen years, and flogging not more than fifty lashes at a time And with a fine of one thousand riyals to fifty thousand riyals – anyone who possesses a narcotic substance, seeds, or plant that produces narcotic substances or psychotropic substances, or sells, buys, finances, supplies, acquires, delivers, receives, transports, exchanges, barters, or spends any of that in any capacity, or mediates in any of that This was for the purpose of trading or promoting for or without compensation, in circumstances other than those permitted by this system.
2- The penalties stipulated in paragraph (1) of this article shall be increased in the following cases:
A- If the offender has one of the conditions specified in Clause (Third) of Article (Thirty-Seven) of this system.
b- If the perpetrator committed his crime or part of it in a mosque, educational institution, or correctional institution, in accordance with what is specified in the regulations.
C- If the narcotic substances or psychotropic substances – the subject of the crime – are heroin, cocaine, or any similar substance of the same danger based on a technical report approved by the Ministry of Health, provided that they are among the substances included in the tables accompanying this system.
D- If the perpetrator exploits someone who is responsible for raising him or who has actual authority over him to commit his crime, or uses a minor to do so, or provides a minor with a drug, sells it to him, or pushes him to use it by any means of enticement or intimidation.
E- Anyone who prepares or manages a place for the use of narcotic substances or psychotropic substances in return“.
Punishment for drug trafficking in Saudi law
Explanation of Article 38 of the Anti-Narcotics Law
The text specifies penalties for anyone who deals with narcotic substances or psychotropic plants without a license, and with the intent to trade or promote.
When do penalties apply?
The penalties stipulated in Article 38 shall be imposed if the accused is proven to have committed any of the following acts:
Possession.
Agriculture (seeds or plants).
Buy or sell.
Financing.
Transportation, delivery or receipt.
Exchange, barter, or mediation in any capacity.
The accused must have intended any of these acts to be trafficking or promotion, regardless of whether they were for or without compensation.
What penalties apply?
This regulatory article specifies the applicable penalties, which are as follows:
1- Imprisonment: a period of not less than (5) years, and not more than (15) years.
2- Skin: no more than (50) lashes at a time.
3- Financial fine: between (1000) thousand riyals and (50,000) fifty thousand riyals.
Punishment for drug trafficking in Saudi law
It should be noted that there are supplementary penalties imposed on the accused, whether travel ban or deportation from the Kingdom.
What are the conditions for tightening penalties?
Article 38, in its second paragraph, clarifies the cases in which the above-mentioned penalties are increased, as follows:
1- The cases mentioned in Article (37) in Clause (Third): If the accused is a member of an organized gang smuggling drugs into the Kingdom.
2- Committing the crime in private places: The penalty shall be increased if it is committed in any of the following places: (mosques, schools or universities, correctional institutions).
3- The danger of the narcotic substance: The penalty will be increased if the substance seized from the accused is a very dangerous substance such as: (heroin, cocaine).
4- Exploitation of vulnerable persons or minors: The penalty shall be increased if the accused exploits a person under his jurisdiction or authority, such as a manager or employee, or the accused exploits a minor in committing the crime, or the accused pushes the minor to use drugs by any means, whether through intimidation or enticement.
5- Preparing places for drug use: If the perpetrator provides a place in exchange for drug use, or is in charge of managing this place, the penalty will be increased.
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