Gandhinagar: In a significant blow to inter-state drug trafficking networks, two individuals were pronounced guilty by a city court over their role in the smuggling of Mephedrone, a psychotropic substance prohibited under NDPS Act-1985.
The Gandhinagar court on Thursday sentenced the two convicted individuals to 20 years and 10 years in prison respectively, for trafficking 198.90 grams of mephedrone.
The case, investigated by NCB’s Ahmedabad Zonal Unit, involved the illegal transportation of narcotics from Madhya Pradesh to Gujarat.
The two convicted individuals namely Shahida Bibi alias Saida Bee and Radheshyam Solanki were convicted on August 19, following a trial in a case registered under Sections 8(c), 22(c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
According to the NCB, its officers acted on specific intelligence and intercepted an Ashok Travels bus, travelling from Jaora-Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh towards Ahmedabad.
The bus was stopped at Chandrala Police Naka on NH-48 in Gandhinagar on February 21, 2023. The agency sleuths seized 198.90 grams of mephedrone from Shahida Bibi and Solanki, who were travelling on the bus.
The NCB investigation found that the duo were part of a conspiracy to transport a commercial quantity of the psychotropic substance across state lines for illegal sale.
The NCB said Shahida Bibi was involved in the illegal transportation and distribution of mephedrone in Ahmedabad city, while Solanki, who was the bus driver, acted as a courier for transporting the drug from Jaora to Ahmedabad.
The seized substance was found in the conscious possession of both accused, according to the agency. The NCB filed its complaint before the District and Sessions Court on August 17, 2023.
The court sentenced Shahida Bibi, a resident of Sujapur in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh, to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs two lakh. Solanki, a resident of Jaora in Ratlam district, was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs one lakh.
The NCB said the conviction followed a detailed trial and showcased the prosecution of an inter-state narcotics trafficking case involving the use of road transport to move mephedrone into Gujarat.
(IANS)
