Man gets 15 years in jail for possessing over 26 kg heroin

Special Judge M K Nagpal handed down the jail term to Delhi resident Baldev Singh after convicting him under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

"It is clear from the above fact that the convict (Singh) either appears to be a main member of a well organised drug trafficking racket or he is a professionally involved in the delivery of the consignments of drugs and other illegal articles for monetary consideration.

"Hence, the facts and circumstances of this case do not require for taking of any lenient view...," the court said, imposing a cost of Rs 1.5 lakh on him.

The convict was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials two days later when cops seized 26.6 kg of heroin along with over Rs 14 lakhs of illegal foreign currency from his vehicle on June 2, 2009.

After getting a tip off, the DRI officials had nabbed Singh while he was on his way to deliver the commercial quantity of heroin to one Nigerian.

Singh's counsel had told the court that his client was innocent and was falsely implicated in this case.

The prosecution opposed Singh's plea for leniency, saying he does not deserve relief as he has been found guilty of possessing a commercial quantity of heroin and he was also involved in two separate cases of Customs Department and DRI.

Taking note of the prosecution submissions, the court said, "keeping in view the age of the convict, his health...I sentence him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 15 years."