PESHAWAR: The special court for the control of narcotic substances on Friday convicted two people for drug trafficking and sentenced them to life imprisonment with Rs200,000 fine each in default of which they have to undergo six months more imprisonment.

Judge Shahid Khan observed that the prosecution had proved its case against the two accused, including Mohammad Nawaz and Waqasur Rahman, both residents of Peshawar.

A female accused in the case, stated to be the wife of convict Mohammad Nawaz, was also convicted in the case but as she was having a two-year-old child with her, the court adopted lenient view while convicting her and sentenced her to prison term which she had already undergone.

A special prosecutor of Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), Shah Faisal Ilyas, said the accused were travelling in a Mercedes car when they were stopped by officials of ANF near Panya Chowk in Haripur in 2014.

He added that the ANF had recovered 106kg charas and opium concealed in the rear seat of the car.

The prosecutor stated that the accused were charged under Section 9-C of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997, as they’re caught red-handed smuggling a huge quantity of contraband from Peshawar to Mansehra.

Also, the special court convicted Owal Khan, a resident of Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency, in another case and handed over life imprisonment and Rs200,000 fine to him.

The prosecutor said the accused was travelling in a jeep from Orakzai Agency to Peshawar and was stopped by the ANF, Kohat, on Aug 14, 2015. He added that from beneath the front seats of the vehicle the ANF had recovered 30kg charas.

Also, the court convicted Mohammad Wali for smuggling contraband and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment.

The convict was arrested at the Bacha Khan International Airport by ANF officials near the international departure lounge on Jan 12, 2015.

The ANF’s prosecutor said the accused had concealed in his trolley-bag six kilogrammes of amphetamine commonly known as crystal meth or ice.

He added that the seized contraband was a dangerous drug and the accused was giving a bad name to the country by smuggling it abroad.

Published in Dawn November 12th, 2016