KARACHI: A judicial magistrate has sentenced two men to three-year imprisonment in a case pertaining to possession of over 10 kilograms of gutka and mawa.

Judicial Magistrate (South) Nawab Khan Khaskheli found Akbar Ali and Abdul Ghafoor guilty of committing offence under Section 8 of the Sindh Prohibition of Preparation, Manufactu­ring, Storage, Sale and Use of Gutka and Mainpuri Act 2019.

According to state prosecutor Rizwana Mughal, while patrolling on Mauripur Road in Lyari on Nov 9, 2024, police apprehended two men and recovered 5kg of gutka packets and 5.5kg of mawa from their possession.

She stated that the seized samples were sent for chemical examination and the report revealed that the “parcels contain compounds that can cause cancer and are therefore unfit for human consumption”.

On the other hand, the accused contended that they had been falsely implicated in the case with mala fide intentions on the part of the police.

However, the court observed that the defence had miserably failed in bringing anything on record in its favour to establish any mala fide act on the part of the police.

The court added that all the documents produced by the prosecution in support to its case showed that the accused had committed the alleged offence and that a large quantity of the gutka and mawa had been recovered from their possession. It noted that the seized material contained “hazardous substances and is unfit for human consumption”.

The court order added that the accused neither examined themselves on oath nor produced any witness in their support.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2026