A special NIA court in Ahmedabad has delivered a significant verdict, sentencing six Pakistani nationals to eight years in prison for their role in the 2019 mid-sea seizure of 330 kg of brown heroin off the Gujarat coast, while letting off one Indian accused.
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Key Points
- Six Pakistani nationals received eight-year rigorous imprisonment for a 2019 drug smuggling operation off Gujarat.
- The case involved the mid-sea seizure of 330 kg of ‘brown heroin’ near Jakhau coast.
- An Indian man, accused of being the recipient, was acquitted by the special NIA court due to benefit of doubt.
- The National Investigation Agency (NIA) probed the case, linking drug proceeds to terror funding.
- The Indian Coast Guard intercepted the Pakistani boat, leading to the recovery of the contraband.
A special NIA court in Ahmedabad has sentenced six Pakistani nationals to eight years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with the 2019 mid-sea seizure of 330 kg of ‘brown heroin’ off Gujarat’s Jakhau coast in Kutch district.
The court, in the order passed on July 28, Monday, however, acquitted an Indian who was allegedly supposed to receive the contraband, giving him the benefit of the doubt.
The Pakistani nationals had dumped the packets containing the drug into the sea from their boat in Indian territorial waters after being intercepted by an Indian Coast Guard ship.
Court’s Verdict And Charges
Special NIA Court Judge Hemang Rawal also handed down an imprisonment of five years under the Passport (Entry Into India) Rules, 1950, to the Pakistani convicts.
Both the sentences will run concurrently. The court imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of the convicts under the Foreigners Act.
The court, however, acquitted them under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, citing the prosecution’s failure to establish the crime beyond doubt.
It also acquitted an Indian man, who was the intended recipient of the consignment, under the benefit of doubt. He was supposed to receive the delivery of narcotic drugs mid-sea in an Indian boat.
NIA Investigation And Terror Link
According to the NIA, the funds generated from smuggling were supposed to be used for a terror organisation and carrying out terrorist acts.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which probed the case, had charged the six Pakistani nationals under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, Indian Penal Code, and the NDPS Act.
The 2019 Drug Seizure Operation
On May 20, 2019, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Gandhidham, Kutch, received an intelligence input about a Pakistani fishing boat trying to deliver narcotic drugs to a recipient in Indian territorial waters off the Jakhau coast.
After the Indian Coast Guard ship Arinjay cornered a Pakistan-flagged ship following an alert by DRI on the morning of May 21, its crew members threw some suspicious bags into the sea.
The ICG recovered a total of 194 packets of suspected narcotic drugs.
Seventeen more packets of the contraband were recovered subsequently in a coastal area on different dates by other authorities, including the police, BSF, and others, as per the details of the case mentioned in the court’s order.
The Pakistani boat, Al-Madina, was apprehended. During interrogation, the boat’s captain, Safdar Ali, told investigators that he was aware of the delivery of the drug consignment to an Indian recipient.
Indian fishing boat also apprehended
A suspicious Indian fishing boat named Fezane Kirmani was also apprehended.
During the examination of boats at Jakhau, the Forensic Science Laboratory, Bhuj, established that the seized narcotic was ‘brown heroin’, a prohibited substance under the NDPS Act.
The DRI seized a total of 194 packets of the contraband weighing 217.856 kg. During investigation, it was found that 330 packets of drugs, packed in 11 polypropylene bags, were brought by six Pakistani crew members into India for delivery.
Considering the gravity of the offence and its international linkages, the ministry of home affairs directed the NIA to take over the investigation of the case vide order dated May 22, 2020.
The prosecution, which examined 16 witnesses, submitted that seven persons had hatched a criminal conspiracy in connivance with nine other wanted accused for smuggling a huge quantity of narcotic drugs into India.
The six accused Pakistani nationals purchased the necessary incriminating material to smuggle 330 kg of drugs from Karachi to Gujarat and loaded, transported, and imported the same for its delivery to an Indian recipient using the ship Al-Madina, as per the charge sheet.
It also submitted that the Indian man, Ramjhan Gani Palani, had attempted to take possession/delivery of the consignment in his boat, following which a case was registered against the accused under various sections of the NDPS Act and UAPA.
