Srinagar: A court in Handwara has sentenced a man to 11 years in jail for possession of drugs in commercial quantities. The court also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on the accused. The case dates back to 2019. The culprit was caught while carrying drugs hidden in the air filter of the Santro car. The police had registered a case against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
A court in Handwara sentenced Mushtaq Ahmed Peer to 11 years of rigorous imprisonment for possession of drugs in commercial quantities. The case came to light during a traffic stop-stop investigation in 2019. Additional Sessions Judge Mansoor Ahmed Lone convicted Peer under the Drugs Act. Peer is a resident of Tarthpora area in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
According to the police, the accused was arrested on July 12, 2019. A police team from the Chogal police post was on general check duty on Watyen General Road. At the same time, Pir reached there by Hyundai Santro car. The police stopped him when he was found to be a suspect.
Police searched the vehicle. During this, some substances such as drugs were recovered from the bottom of the bonnet (engine air filter). It is reported that the prohibited items were covered with cloth and then had a polyethylene cover. During the sentencing, the convict’s lawyer Ahrar Ahmed Dar pleaded for leniency in the sentence.
He emphasized that his client belongs to a poor person, ordinary background and family and has a clean record. The convict has never been convicted in any case before nor is there any criminal case pending against him.
The court, after hearing arguments from both sides, sentenced the convict to 11 years. “In his order, the judge, referring to the sentence, said, “”The convict was found to have commercial quantities of drugs.””” The court further said that if the guilty person does not pay the prescribed fine, he will have to face additional six months of ordinary imprisonment.
