Ahmedabad, April 30 (IANS) A Special NDPS Court in Ahmedabad sentenced three convicts involved in the interstate smuggling of charas to 10 years imprisonment and slapped fines ranging from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 1 lakh on them, an NCB official said on Thursday.​

The Special NDPS Court, Mehsana, held Shahidbhai Ibrahimbhai Maniyar, resident of Gomtipur, Ahmedabad; Rafik Dilawar Chauhan, resident of Gomtipur, Ahmedabad, and Maniyar Saiyedhussain Hasamiya, resident of Vatva, Ahmedabad, guilty under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said in a statement.​

Acting on specific and credible intelligence, officers of NCB, Ahmedabad Zonal Unit, intercepted three accused on September 25, 2021, near Fatehpura Circle, Mehsana Bypass, Mehsana, when they were coming from Ajmer (Rajasthan) in a passenger bus, the NCB said.​

Search proceedings led to the seizure of 9.330 kg of charas from the conscious and exclusive possession of the above-mentioned accused. All the accused were formally arrested on the same day, it said.​

Upon completion of the investigation, a complaint was filed before the Special NDPS Court, Mehsana, on March 17, 2022, for offences punishable under Sections 8(c), 20 (b)(ii)(c), 27A, 29, 31, and 35 of the NDPS Act, 1985.​

After the trial, the Special NDPS Court on Thursday convicted all three accused and sentenced them to 10 years of Rigorous Imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1.50 lakh for Shahidbhai Ibrahimbhai Maniyar and Rafik Dilawar Chauhan, the NCB said.​

The court sentenced 10 years of Rigorous Imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh, to Maniyar Saiyedhussain Hasamiya under the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985 (as amended), for involvement in this heinous crime against society, said the statement.​

The NCB said the conviction sends an unequivocal message that drug trafficking will not be tolerated.​

It said the investigation and diligent prosecution by the NCB Ahmedabad Zonal Unit have ensured that justice is delivered, protecting communities from the devastating consequences of narcotic drug abuse.​

–IANS

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