A special court has convicted a Russian national, who was part of an international drug trafficking syndicate, and sentenced him to 18 years imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹5 lakh.
In 2011, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) sleuths arrested four pharmaceutical distributors for supplying controlled medicines through couriers to the U.S., Canada and European countries. The NCB officials had earlier arrested Alexander Vyukhin, 48, a Russian national operating from Villupuram district, and C. Sankar, 48, a wholesale drug dealer, in the same case. The two ran an online pharmacy. The NCB officials had raided their residences and offices and seized documents.
The accused had illegally despatched psychotropic substances to foreign countries. Selling and storing psychotropic drugs without proper licenses is an offence under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Seven persons were cited as accused and John, a U.S. national, was reported to be absconding. Hence, the case was tried against the six accused.
At the conclusion of trial, J. Juliet Pushpa, First Additional Special Judge for Exclusive Trial of NDPS Cases, convicted Vyukhin on the grounds that he played a crucial role in the international drug trafficking syndicate.
Shankar died during pendency of trial while two others were discharged by the High Court. The trial court acquitted two others.
