Court convicts duo in drug trafficking case
Srinagar, Oct 3: A court here has convicted two persons in a case involving the illegal trade of psychotropic substances in 2021.
Special Judge NDPS Cases Srinagar, Vinod Kumar, convicted Mudasir Sultan Bhat alias Majid and Feroz Ahmad Khan alias Jaja, residents of Bemina Srinagar, after finding them guilty under Sections 8/22 and 29 of the NDPS Act.
The court found Mudasir also guilty under Sections 468, 471(forgery), and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for orchestrating and facilitating the transport of psychotropic substances under the guise of legitimate pharmaceutical trade.
The two persons were arrested after police recovered 7500 bottles of ZRex syrup (codeine phosphate) and 9600 Zen-Cavit capsules in April 2021 from a transport facility in Chanapora here.
The prosecution's case was that the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) Kashmir, on April 20, 2021, received credible information about a truck bearing number JK08A-7628 being used to transport a consignment of illicit psychotropic substances. The information to ANTF revealed that the vehicle was operating allegedly on the instructions of the drug dealer, Mudasir alias Majid.
The information also suggested that the consignment would be unloaded at the Transport Company near Chanapora bypass bridg,e Srinagar, according to the prosecution.
Police station Crime Branch Kashmir subsequently registered a case (FIR no 19/2021) under section 8/22 of the NDPS Ac,t which was followed by investigation. During the investigation, a wireless message was flashed to District Magistrate Srinagar requesting him to depute an executive magistrate near Chanapora bridge.
“The employees of the transport company were found unloading the consignment from the truck, and were asked to produce the necessary documents about the same,” the prosecution said. As per the documents, a consignment was found loaded in the truck.
The employees of the transport company were directed to unload the consignments except 51 boxes of medicines, which were found loaded in the truck. “On perusal of the consignment of 51 boxes, it was found that said consignment contains 50 boxes of Z-rex syrup and 1 box of Zen-Cavit capsules and was supposed to be handed over to a business concern”, the prosecution said.
Subsequently, 50 boxes of Z-rex syrup 100ml (codeine phosphate 10mg per 5ml, chlorpheniramine maleate 4mg per 5ml), in all 7500 bottles, and 1 box of Zen-Cavit capsules, i.e., 960 strips (9600 capsules) were recovered in the presence of the Executive Magistrate.
In connection with the case, two other persons, Waseem Ahmad Lone and Faizan Ahmad Makaya, residents of Bemina, are yet to be arrested in the case and are facing proceedings under 512CrPC. The two accused persons, along with the convicted, were receiving illicit psychotropic substances and distributing them among the youth.
Mudasir was arrested on August 6, 2021, after he failed to provide satisfactory documentation for the illicit consignments, while Feroz was arrested on January 10, 2022. He was recently released on bail.
The court ordered him to be taken into custody while announcing the conviction against him.
