PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Friday granted bail to two persons arrested last month by the excise department near Mardan on charges of smuggling narcotics to the Punjab province.

The single-member bench of Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth accepted the bail petition of Nadim Hussain and Irfan, belonging to Sahiwal district, and directed them to furnish two sureties of Rs100,000 each.

The excise police had arrested the two on Feb 13 near Mardan while travelling in a car and had allegedly recovered 5kg of charas. An FIR was registered against them at Sheikh Maltoon police station under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Control of Narcotics Substance Act, 2019.

The petitioners’ counsel contended his clients were implicated in a concocted case. He pointed out that after their arrest they were handed over to officials of Sheikh Maltoon police. He argued that the so-called recovered contraband was not handed over to the police, whereas under the law the case property had to be deposited in the police station.

He pointed out that the samples from the recovered narcotics were also sent to Forensic Science Laboratory with delay, and the delay in the report went in favour of the petitioners.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2020