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Nigerian Man, Two Others Sentenced To 10-year Imprisonment In India For Drug Possession

October 14, 2020

According to Times of India, the three accused, Chukwu Simon Obinna (30) from Abuja, Nigeria, K Kumaresan (26) and C Arun Diwakar (33) were arrested near an apartment in Porur in 2018, for the possession of the narcotic substances.

A special court for exclusive trial of cases under NDPS act in Chennai has convicted a Nigerian and two Indian accomplices and sentenced them to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for the possession of narcotic substances including ecstasy pills and cocaine.

According to Times of India, the three accused, Chukwu Simon Obinna (30) from Abuja, Nigeria, K Kumaresan (26) and C Arun Diwakar (33) were arrested near an apartment in Porur in 2018, for the possession of the narcotic substances.

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According to the prosecution, SRMC police received a tip off about exchange of Narcotics in Porur and on December 17, 2018, they apprehended the trio near an apartment complex.

Police found the trio to be in possession of psychotropic and narcotic substances in their bags, which they had planned to sell. 

Police seized 220 grams of ecstasy pills, 18 grams of cocaine, eight grams of MDMA, nine gram of Meth from them.

Among the many arguments, the counsel for the accused submitted that independent witnesses were not cited by the prosecution and the same is very much fatal to the case prosecution. 

The judge, however, observed from the records that the scene of crime is a service road and held that for the mere reason of non production of independent witnesses the case of the prosecution cannot be rejected.

“The oral testimony of official witnesses cannot be disbelieved. When the evidence of seizure officer is credible, non production of independent witnesses is not fatal to the prosecution,” Judge V Thenmozhe stated.

The court further observed that people are generally reluctant to give evidence in a criminal case on the ground that it may invite problems and expose them to great risk.

The court also imposed a fine on the accused -- Rs 3 lakh on the foreign national and Arun Diwakar and a fine of Rs 4 lakh on Kumaresan.

Topics
Drugs