A court in Ahmedabad has sentenced a Nigerian and a Zambian national to 20 years imprisonment for drug trafficking.

The Special Court handling cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) also slammed a fine of Rs200,000 on each of the convicts.

India’s Narcotics Control Bureau said the Zambian national, Hanchabila John, was arrested on September 3, 2021, after arriving on a flight from Dubai with 2.75 kilograms of heroin.

According to the agency, the suspect was intercepted at the airport based on intelligence reports indicating he was smuggling narcotics into India.

Investigations later identified a Nigerian national, Nwaobu Christian Arinze, 37, as the intended recipient of the illicit drugs.

Arinze was subsequently arrested in Ahmedabad by officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau.

Authorities filed charges before the Additional District and Sessions Court in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2022, under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act.

After a prolonged trial, the court on Tuesday found both men guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced them to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment each, along with the monetary penalty.

The conviction followed investigations and prosecution led by the Narcotics Control Bureau, which said the arrests were based on actionable intelligence about international drug trafficking activities.

Source: PM News