Thane, February 19 A special court in the Thane district of Maharashtra has sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on him for possessing and storing mephedrone and ketamine drugs in commercial quantities.
The order was passed on February 13, and a copy was made available on Thursday.
Special Judge D R Deshpande, who was presiding over the cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, found the 46-year-old accused, Ashfaque Abdul Jabbar Shaikh from Kalyan, guilty.
However, the court acquitted two other co-accused, Shahid Sayed from Mumbai and Bobba Venkat Reddy from Hyderabad, citing a lack of evidence regarding their involvement in the crime.
The case dates back to August 15, 2020, when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) received specific intelligence about a large consignment of mephedrone being manufactured in Hyderabad and transported to Mumbai and Kalyan.
Acting on the tip-off, DRI teams conducted simultaneous raids. One team intercepted two cardboard cartons at a transport office in Navi Mumbai, containing approximately 45.655 kilograms of mephedrone. A second team raided Shaikh's residence in Kalyan, where they recovered 19.553 kilograms of mephedrone and 10.018 kilograms of ketamine stored in wooden cabinets.
During the search at Shaikh's house, officials also seized manufacturing implements, including glass flasks and chemical containers, suggesting that the premises were being used for processing prohibited substances.
Additionally, Indian currency amounting to Rs 44.09 lakh, along with USD 1,350 and 40 Euros, believed to be proceeds of crime, were recovered from an aluminum trunk.
While the prosecution sought the maximum penalty to deter future offenses, the defence pleaded for leniency, citing the accused's age and health issues.
In the strongly-worded order, the court stated, "Given the circumstances, in which the accused was found in possession of a very large quantity of mephedrone as well as a large quantity of ketamine, along with a large amount of cash, foreign exchange, and manufacturing implements, etc., the sentence would be just, expedient, and proper in this case."
The judge further observed that there was a "reasonable belief" that the implements and chemicals found at the site "were being used for manufacturing substances prohibited by the NDPS Act."
The court gave the benefit of doubt to the other two accused and acquitted them as their role could not be established in the crime.
The court ordered that the seized Indian currency be credited to the government, while the foreign exchange be sent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
A total of 15 prosecution witnesses were examined in the case.