PESHAWAR: A special anti-narcotics court here has convicted a suspect for drug trafficking and sentenced him to life with a fine of Rs500,000.
Judge Sumbal Naseer ruled that the prosecution proved its case against the suspect, Gulzeb, a resident of Mansehra, without any shadow of doubt and the evidence on record connected him with the commission of the offence.
The judge also convicted him for driving and using, as genuine, a vehicle whose chassis number had been obliterated, and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for seven years with a fine of Rs50,000. The court directed that the sentences should run concurrently.
The court also declared two absconding suspects in the case, Nek Mohammad and Imran Ali, both residents of Khyber district, as proclaimed offenders and issued their perpetual arrest warrants. The convict was arrested by a team of Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on Aug 25, 2022, in Nowshera on charges of possessing and trafficking of 84-kg of charas and of 18-kg of opium.
ANF claimed that at the time of occurrence, its team had intercepted a Ford Wagon on GT Road near Khushal Khan Khattak Memorial Library, Akora Khattak, Nowshera. It stated that the person seated in the driving seat identified himself as Gulzeb.
It said that he admitted that charas and opium were being carried in sacks in the rear of the vehicle, beneath straw sacks.
On his pinpointing, the contrabands were recovered and an FIR was registered at ANF police station, Peshawar, under different provisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Control of Narcotics Substance Act (CNSA) and Pakistan Penal Code.
“It has been established that the accused was apprehended with a huge quantity of contraband and there was no ulterior motive on the part of the ANF officials to falsely implicate him,” the judge ruled.
Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2026
