Salman Behbehani on his way to court in Palma this morning.

Salman Behbehani on his way to court in Palma this morning. | Guillermo Esteban

Humphrey CarterPalma27/02/2025 13:03
TW
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DJ and poker player Salman Behbehani, a member of one of the richest families in the world according to Forbes magazine, arrived half an hour late to his drug trafficking trial at the Palma court today - Thursday. The suspect, who has hired two female lawyers and a male lawyer to defend him, will testify tomorrow that he landed in Ibiza, in July 2021, on a private jet from Las Vegas, accompanied by 30 other people, with a large quantity of drugs in his suitcase: 315 grams of cocaine, 171 grams of Tusi, 705 grams of hashish, 80 grams of MDMA, various quantities of marijuana, poppers, LSD and other substances. The Public Prosecutor's Office is seeking a sentence of nine years in prison for Behbehani and a fine of 53,000 euros.

Behbehani landed in Ibiza in the early hours of 16 July 2021 and was intercepted in the airport scanner area by officers from the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil Border Patrol. The DJ and renowned poker player was part of a group of 30 people on the jet.

During the inspection, the officers used a scanner to detect a large assortment of drugs inside one of the suitcases. The Guardia Civil also found 6,220 euros, 1,785 dollars, 485 pounds, 100 Kuwaiti dinars and 101,200 Thai baht.

One of the officers who intervened when Behbehani got off the private jet explained that they had been told to search the aircraft. "They told us that the accused was the owner of the plane and it surprised us that such a young person should have such a big plane".

Salman Behbehani, 37 years old and of US nationality, was arrested and imprisoned. His family ranks 19th on the Forbes list of the 100 best family businesses in the Middle East. During his career as a live tournament poker player he has won almost three million dollars. In a single game he won 600,000. The hearing continues.