Four caught with narcotics near school sentenced to 14 years in jail

A sessions court on Monday sentenced four accused, including a juvenile, to 14-year imprisonment in a drug trafficking case. Muhammad Saleem, Sikandar, Syed Wali and their juvenile accomplice Muhammad Ahmed Khan were caught in possession of over 21 kilogrammes of chars (hashish) near a school in Musharraf Colony within the limits of the Mauripur police station in June last year, according to the prosecution.

Additional Sessions Judge (West) Aurangzeb Shah observed that the prosecution succeeded in establishing the charge against the accused persons beyond any reasonable doubt and awarded them 14 years imprisonment with a fine of Rs400,000. In case of failure to pay the fine, he said the convicts would have to undergo additional six-month imprisonment.

"Upon a thorough examination of the case as a whole, with particular emphasis on the astute trafficking of the Chars by the accused persons, it becomes unmistakably clear that the matter under scrutiny has been decisively proven against them," the judge said.

The prosecution said that on June 16, 2024, a Special Investigation Unit (SIU) team arrested the four accused from a van near a school in Musharaf Colony Block D within the Mauripur police’s jurisdiction and recovered black shopping bags from each accused’s lap, containing charas wrapped in yellow tape.

The seized quantities were 5,140 grammes, 5,505 grammes, 5,490 grammes, and 5,270 grammes respectively, it added. In their statement under the Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the accused rejected allegations levelled against them and claimed to be innocent.

In his written order, the judge noted: "In the current case, the prosecution provided convincing and reliable evidence, which proved the accused persons' guilt beyond doubt." He highlighted that "when dealing with narcotics cases, courts are expected to take a proactive approach rather than acquitting the accused on technicalities."

The judge said that the accused persons refused to testify under oath or provide any witness to support their defense during their statement. "They did not express any ill will towards the police officials who testified against them, and their only explanation was that they were falsely implicated by the police," he added.

"While they did not deny being present at the alleged place of the incident or the recovery of the alleged narcotics, they claimed that the police planted the alleged narcotics on them. However, they did not provide any reason why the police would plant such a large quantity of narcotics upon them."