Meth bust: Court denies NCB custody of Zubair, seeks more clarity
KOCHI: Refusing to grant the Narcotics Control Bureau custody of a suspected Pakistan national arrested with 2,525kg of methamphetamine from a vessel off the Kerala coast, the Ernakulam Additional District Sessions Court on Monday directed the agency to file a fresh affidavit on Tuesday. Additional Sessions Judge K Sanilkumar, considering NCB’s remand application for Zubair Derakhshandeh, observed that its reports and custody petition do not disclose the distance off the coast from where the seizure was made.
When the application was considered in open court in the morning, the judge ordered the production of Zubair by evening. Later in the evening, in the judge’s chamber, Zubair’s counsel B A Aloor objected to the application. He claimed that nothing has been revealed in the NCB report and affidavits about the distance off the coast where the seizure was made. According to him, the case would not stand if the seizure was made at a distance beyond 12 nautical miles (the limit of Indian territorial waters) off the coast.
The defence counsel also argued that Zubair is a Pakistani refugee in Iran and so cannot be considered a Pakistan national. Going through the report filed by the NCB, the court observed that there was nothing mentioned about the distance at which the seizure was made. The court directed the agency to file a fresh affidavit on Tuesday detailing the same. Ordering that Zubair be produced before it on Tuesday at 11am, the court also sought the appearance of the NCB senior prosecutor.
Speaking to reporters, Aloor said the NCB should disclose whether the seizure was made in Indian waters or the high seas. “If the offence was committed outside the Indian territorial waters, CrPC 188 (offence committed outside India) will not stand. Section 188 (b) specifies that no offence outside India shall be inquired into or tried in India except with the previous sanction of the central government unless an Indian citizen, ship or aircraft registered in India is involved. Here, neither is there any mention of the distance or any sanction from central government,” he said.
It was on May 10 that Indian Navy frigate Teg intercepted a “mother ship” carrying 2,525kg of methamphetamine, in what is considered the largest ever drug haul in the country. The drugs and Zubair were handed over to NCB when the naval vessel reached Kochi on May 13. The seized meth is estimated to be worth more than Rs 20,000 crore in the international market.
HUGE HAUL OFF KERALA
It was on May 10 that Navy frigate Teg intercepted a mother ship carrying 2,525kg of meth, in what is considered the largest ever drug haul in the country. The drugs and Zubair were handed over to NCB when the naval ship reached Kochi