KARACHI: A sessions court has sentenced a policeman to 14 years in prison in a drug trafficking case.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Liaqat Ali Khoso, also the presiding officer of the Special Court for Control of Narcotics Substances (Malir), found Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Muhammad Imran of the Gulshan-i-Maymar police station guilty of trafficking over one kilogram of charas.

The court imposed a fine of Rs400,000 on the convict and in case of default he would have to face an additional five-month imprisonment.

In his detailed verdict, the judge stated: “The accused was found in possession of the recovered drugs and was promptly taken to the police station following his arrest, with the drugs recovered and sealed at the spot, and the FIR lodged. The magnitude of the offence is not minor; hence, minor contradictions and technicalities are not grounds for acquittal.”

The court noted that since the accused was an ASI in the Sindh police, a copy of the judgement would be sent to the Inspector General of Sindh Police for necessary legal action.

It also directed the IG to “collect complete data of police officers/officials directly or indirectly involved in the drug business, invoking asset investigations against those suspected of engaging in criminal activities, particularly drug trafficking, and having close ties with drug lords.”

According to state prosecutor Riaz Ali Soomro, the accused was apprehended in March last year near Faqeera Goth, Scheme-33, during a police patrol. A search revealed 1,020 grams of charas wrapped in yellow tape.

Soomro argued that both the complainant and prosecution witnesses supported the case during examination and cross-examination. He emphasised that minor contradictions in drug cases cannot favour the accused, particularly in Karachi’s Malir District, where drug-related crimes are rising at an alarming rate. He stressed that police officers should prevent crimes, not participate in them.

The defence counsel argued that the prosecution failed to prove safe custody, alleging the documents presented were fabricated.

A case was registered at the SITE-Superhighway Industrial Area police station under Sections 6/9 (1)(3)(c) of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2024