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Drug peddler gets 11-year rigorous imprisonment Sunday, July 1, 2001

By A Staff Reporter, The Times of India News Service
AHMEDABAD, June 30: A Punjab-based drug peddler, with long history of drug trafficking and having an international arrest warrant issued by UK authorities against him, was convicted by a city court on Friday.

Additional sessions judge Sonia G Gokani sentenced accused Sukhdev Nazir Singh alias Monkey, a native of Monga district of Punjab, to 11 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 2 lakh. Monkey was arrested on November 22, 1999 by the Narcotics Control Bureau.

Monkey was involved in several cases of drug peddling in the country as well as abroad but every time he escaped from the hands of law.

According to the prosecution, the NCB was tipped-off that on the evening of November 22, a person by the name of Sukhdev Singh, aged around 50 years, will pass from nearby Vejalpur police station with a consignment of drugs.

Around 5.30 pm, the sleuths spotted a white car (PB 10J 0277) and on checking, the NCB officials seized a heavy consignment of fine quality heroin (brown sugar) from below the rear seat of the car. The drugs worth Rs 4.5 crore concealed in three packets weighed 4.423 kg. Also four ampules of morphine were seized along with two syringes.

While in defence, eight witnesses were produced in favour of the accused who submitted that it was a case of plant to trap him falsely. But public prosecutor A P Desai presenting the case on behalf of NCB argued that the amount being huge, the theory of plant was ruled out.

Also Desai pointed out, had the consignment not been seized, it could have harmed the society in a big way. While the defence pleaded for minimum sentence, the prosecution said keeping in view the consequences of had the consignment found the way into the society, the law should deal with the accused in a stringent manner.

During the investigation, it was found that the accused was not only involved in NDPS cases at Delhi and Mumbai but was also charged for drug peddling abroad. He was arrested for the first time in London in 1983. He was in jail for six months, but escaped while on bail before being convicted by the authorities. He entered India with a fake passport. He was arrested again in Delhi in 1987 and was lodged in Tihar Jail for some time before he escaped while on bail. He was caught again at Mumbai and was kept at Arthur Jail but was released in 1992.

News Source : Times Of India News Service [ Lightning News ]

 

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