Bhuj, Jul 29 An NDPS court here on Wednesday sentenced five men from Punjab to rigorous imprisonment of ten years for attempting to sell heroin valued at Rs 2 crore in Gujarat's Kutch district in 2023, noting their plan to target youths for financial gain cannot be called a normal act.
Special NDPS Court Judge VA Buddha imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh each after convicting them under NDPS Act sections 8(2), 22 (c), and 29 about possession, sale, and transport of narcotic drugs, abetment and criminal conspiracy.
The convicts, identified as Ranjit Singh Jat (30), Harpreet Singh Jat (27), Sartaj Singh Jat (42), Daler Singh Jat (47) and Gurbhej Singh Jat (34), are originally from Tarn Taran district.
As per the prosecution, the five men had smuggled a heroin consignment in a car from Punjab and attempted to sell it at a premium in Kutch district.
Officials of the Special Operations Group (SOG) had received an intelligence input regarding some persons from Punjab travelling in a car with Delhi registration number and looking for customers in Kutch district to sell drugs, according to a release issued by the prosecution.
The SOG contacted the accused through a dummy customer and traced the car on a highway near Madhapar.
"When an attempt was made to cordon it, the accused tried to flee in the car, prompting police to fire at its tyres. At the same time, two occupants started to run away, but they were nabbed. Three others were also held, and their car seized," it stated.
The search of the car led to the recovery of 420 grams of heroin valued at Rs 2.1 crore.
An FIR was registered at the Special Operations Group (SOG) police station at Bhuj on July 13, 2023.
During the hearing of this case, the court evaluated the evidence presented by the prosecution. The court observed in its order that the five accused came together and made a well-planned strategy to target the youth for financial gain and push people into serious addiction, which cannot be called a normal act.
