15kg heroin smuggling bid: Sana, 5 others sent to jail on 14-day remand

LAHORE: A magisterial court on Tuesday sent Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former Punjab law minister, and five others, to jail on 14-day judicial remand, under the charges of an attempt to smuggle 15 kilograms of heroin.

Other accused include Sibtain Khan, Akram, Omer Farooq, Amir Rustum and Usman Ahmed. Under the law, capital punishment or life imprisonment is awarded to an accused possessing heroin one kilogram and above.

The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) officials produced the accused before the court of judicial magistrate Ahmad Waqas amid tight security, as heavy contingent of law-enforcement agencies were deployed at the court to keep the PML-N supporters away and to maintain security.

The ANF informed the court the agency recovered 15 kilograms of heroin from the accused. The ANF said as the recovery had been made, the accused were not required for physical custody. However, the ANF official said challan would be submitted after completion of investigation.

However, the counsel for Rana Sanaullah said the case against his client was politically motivated. He said his client was a heart patient and implored the court to grant permission for provision of home-cooked food for the former minister.

The court, after hearing both parties, sent Rana Sana and others to jail on 14-day judicial remand. The court allowed Rana Sana’s application for home food. The accused has been shifted to Camp Jail.

Rana Sana, while talking to a reporter outside the court room, said what was going on with him was the worst example of cruelty. He said such things did not happen in the state of Madina, which the rulers claim.

Earlier, on Monday, Rana Sanaullah was arrested by the ANF from the Sukheke area at Islamabad-Lahore Motorway. An FIR was registered against the accused under sections 9-C, 15 and 17 of Control of Narcotic Substances Act (CNSA) sections 186, 189, 225 and 353 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The ANF, in the FIR stated that the agency had received secret information that the vehicle of Rana Sana was carrying a heavy quantity of drugs. The FIR said when the ANF officials intercepted the vehicle, Rana Sana and his guards indulged in a scuffle with the officials.

The ANF claimed in the FIR that when asked about the presence of drugs in the vehicle, Rana Sana himself pointed towards a blue suit case placed behind the seat. The agency also claimed in the FIR that Rana Sana confessed to presence of heroin in the suit case and the officials seized 15-kg heroin from the suit case.

The ANF, as per the FIR, also recovered some weapons from the possession of Rana Sana and others.