Ludhiana: A local court has sentenced three people to twelve years’ rigorous imprisonment each in a drug peddling case.
Special court judge Shiv Mohan Garg imposed a fine of Rs 4 lakh each on the three convicts and in default of payment of fine, they will have to further undergo rigorous imprisonment to four years each.
On March 19 2020, City Jagraon police booked Lal Singh, Paramjit Singh Ajay, Paramjit Singh, Sukhjit Singh — all of Daulewala village in Punjab’s Moga district — and Anthonoy Ugochukwu Okpala of Anambra in Nigeria, currently based in Dwarka, New Delhi, under the NDPS Act and Section 473 of the IPC (making or possessing counterfeit seal) in the case.
While the court convicted Lal, Paramjit Singh Ajay and Sukhjit under the NDPS act, it acquitted Paramjit Singh of the charges.
Anthonoy has been declared a proclaimed offender.
As per prosecution, SI Piara Singh of Ludhiana Rural police, along with other police officials, received information that Lal and Paramjit, residents of Daulewala, were selling heroin and that they had come to City Jagraon on a motorcycle to supply contraband to their customers.
Later, Lal, who was driving a motorcycle, and pillion rider Paramjit were arrested from a check post near Landey Phatak, near Dana Mandi.
Police recovered bags containing two kg heroin and Rs 3,12,000 from them. Efforts were made to have independent witnesses, but nobody became ready.
During the interrogation of Paramjit and Lal, they said a fake registration number was affixed on the motorcycle numberplate and later Sukhjit Singh, resident of Daulewala village, and one Nigerian were named as accused.
SI Simarjit Singh, incharge CIA staff, took accused Pararmjit to Delhi, along with officials from Sector 23 police station in Dwarka where Anthony Ugochukwu Okpala was arrested.
He confessed to having supplied heroin to Lal and Paramjit through Ilechukwu Nnaka Chirstian.
“The drug smuggling business was operated by Ilechukwu Nnaka Chirstian, who has customers in different places of Punjab,” the accused told police.
Chirstian dealt with his customers and gave them heroin for supplying to customers in different places where he used to meet people as informed by the said person.
Later, Anthony helped police recover 320 grams of heroin from a place near a private university in the Chaukiman area. On March 28, 2020, Paramjit confessed to have worked under Paramjit Singh, “who is a big smuggler and has relations with some Nigerian persons”. Paramjit was also named in the case and later he and Sukhjit were arrested after they surrendered in court. After police filed chargesheet, the accused pleaded false implication during the trial. The defence argued non-joining of independent witnesses by the police party despite the fact that the alleged place of recovery is a very busy place.