PESHAWAR: A local court on Friday convicted a man for smuggling narcotics and sentenced him to life imprisonment with fine of Rs1 million.

Additional sessions judge Attaullah Jan pronounced that the prosecution had proved its case beyond any shadow of doubt against the accused, Mohammad Nazakat, a resident of Abbottabad, and the evidence on record connected him with the commission of the offence.

The court declared the three absconding co-accused, Zahoor Khan, Bashir and Umar, as proclaimed offenders and issued their perpetual arrest warrants, ruling that prima facie they were connected with the commission of the offence.

Assistant public prosecutor Dennis Murad appeared for the state and said that the officers of excise police had a tip-off about smuggling of contraband to Abbottabad from Peshawar, after which they laid a cordon near interchange of Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway on Nov 26, 2023.

He stated that the excise team stopped a passenger coach, which was driven by the accused, Nazakat. He stated that the team spotted four sacks placed under the rear seat of the vehicle, and on search they recovered 110 kilogrammes of charas from them.

He stated that the FIR of the occurrence was registered at excise police station under section 9-D of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Control of Narcotics Act. Mr Murad argued that the accused was directly charged in the FIR and was caught red-handed while smuggling narcotics in the said vehicle.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2025

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