Salman Behbehani Sentenced to 6 Years in Spain
Salman Behbehani, a DJ, member of an extremely wealthy Kuwaiti family, and once one of poker’s most promising young high rollers, has received a six-year prison sentence in Spain for drug smuggling. The case began quietly with his arrest in July 2021 at Ibiza Airport, and has finally concluded in a Balearic court.
Behbehani mostly stayed out of the public poker spotlight in recent years, though railbirds and regs may know him for a slew of successes. His tournament cashes pre-2017 add up to over $3,000,000, making him a high-roller in most player's books. In 2021, he made headlines for very different reasons.
A Private Jet, a Suitcase, and a Wide Array of Substances
On July 16, 2021, Salman Behbehani was arrested after arriving in Ibiza via a private flight from Las Vegas. The jet reportedly carried around 30 passengers, probably planning for a lively Ibiza holiday. Upon landing, the Spanish Guardia Civil and tax authorities discovered a suitcase filled with an assortment of illegal drugs linked to Behbehani.
"“When we opened the suitcase it already smelled a lot of marijuana, it caught our attention. We asked him if he had anything, and he said no, but when we started to take things out we found them,” said a Customers Surveillance agent in Ibiza.
The haul was staggering in its diversity and volume, reportedly valued at over €26,000. Authorities reported seizing:
- 315 grams of cocaine
- 715 grams of “tusi” (a pink synthetic drug often branded as “pink cocaine”)
- 171 grams of 2C-B (a hallucinogen)
- 705 grams of hashish
- 80 grams of MDMA
- Smaller quantities of cannabis, mushrooms, and LSD
Salman has maintained that the drugs were not his, though he took responsibility since the chartered plain was in his name.
"There was a lot of hustle and bustle. One of the people who were working at the scanner – civil guards or customs agents – asked me in Spanish if it was mine, and I i said it was all mine because I had chartered the plane"
The public prosecutor initially went for a nine-year prison term, citing the variety and quantity of drugs, and the international nature of the smuggling route. However, in a hearing held in late February 2025, the sentence was finalized at six years. Unless Behbehani appeals the decision to the Civil and Criminal Division of the Higher Regional Court of the Balearic Islands, the verdict will stand as final.
In most jurisdictions, criminal sentence appeal success rates are quite low, which doesn't bode well for Salman.
Who Is Salman Behbehani?
For those who mostly follow today’s elite crushers, Salman Behbehani is not be a household name. But in the early 2010s, he was a legitimate force in the high-stakes tournament world.
Hailing from one of Kuwait’s wealthiest families, Salman doesn't appear to fit the typical drug smuggler profile. The Behbehani family has investments in multiple banks, luxury goods, automobiles, and is even credited with bring air conditioning and private TV broadcasting to Kuwait.
As for Salman, his time was split between professional poker and performing as a DJ. On the felt, he built an impressive résumé, amassing his own small fortune. According to The Hendon Mob, he has over $3.3 million in live tournament earnings. His breakout performance came in 2011 when he finished runner-up at the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event in Cannes for $818,799. Small compared to his family's estimated net worth of multiple billions, but not a small amount of money by any means. Salman also generates around 70,000 euros per month from his position in a Kuwaiti construction company, along with a 25% stake in the estimated billion euro value company.
In WSOP action, he cashed 10 times, coming close to bracelet glory with a second- and third-place finish in separate events. Online, he also made noise, most notably with a second-place finish in the $102,000 WCOOP Super High Roller, one of the priciest tournaments in internet poker history at the time.
Despite his skill and bankroll, Behbehani always seemed to keep one foot in and one foot out of the poker spotlight. His last known tournament cash came from placing 138th in the 2020 WSOP Online Main Event for $24,886, after which he all but vanished from the poker headlines... until now.
