Court cancels bail granted to suspect in drug smuggling case

The Madras High Court Bench here has cancelled the bail granted by a lower court to a suspect reportedly involved in procuring huge quantities of tablets containing zolpidem, a psychotropic substance used mostly for treatment of insomnia, from medical representatives based in Tiruchi and smuggling them to Malaysia through Chennai.

Allowing a bail cancellation application preferred by the Superintendent of Customs, Central Intelligence Unit (CIU), Tiruchi, Justice V.M. Velumani cancelled the bail granted to L. Abuthahir of Chennai by an Additional Sessions Court in Pudukottai on August 5. She held that the Sessions Judge had failed to consider the gravity of the offence before granting bail.

Explaining the modus operandi, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) C. Arul Vadivel said that Abuthahir was a middleman in the habit of procuring the drugs from Tiruchi on the instructions of Jamaludeen hailing from Ramanathapuram but settled in Dubai. His job was to receive consignments from Tiruchi and hand them over to designated people in Chennai.

On April 26, officers of CIU arrested Mohammed Syed Mustafa, medical representative of a reputed pharmaceutical company, at a private parcel service in Tiruchi when he was booking a parcel containing 13,000 tablets to Chennai.

He was in possession of an invoice showing that the tablets had been purchased for a de-addiction centre in Tiruchi.

Subsequently, the officials intercepted Abuthathir at the office of the parcel service in Chennai and he confessed to have attempted to procure the tablets from Tiruchi at the instance of Jamaludeen.

Stating that the drugs were meant for smuggling to Malaysia, he also admitted to have made similar procurements from other medical representatives in Tiruchi in the past, the SPP added.

After recording his submissions, Ms. Justice Velumani said: “From the materials available on record, it is seen that the respondent has committed a heinous crime against society. As per Section 37 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 there is a bar for grant of bail to an accused in possession of commercial quantity (more than 250 grams).