Caught with heroin, 2 Nigerians among 3 sentenced to jail by Mohali court
The special NDPS court of Ajit Atri awarded rigorous 10-year jail to Okeke Solivan Tobechukwu, 47, a Nigerian, and imposed a fine of ₹1.05 lakh; his compatriot Uche Oyeagbuha, 39, was handed three-year jail along with ₹35,000 fine
A special NDPS court in Mohali on Thursday awarded rigorous jail terms to three persons, including two Nigerians and a Faridkot native, varying from three months to 10 years.
The special NDPS court of Ajit Atri awarded rigorous 10-year jail to Okeke Solivan Tobechukwu, 47, a Nigerian, and imposed a fine of ₹1.05 lakh; three-year jail to his compatriot Uche Oyeagbuha, 39, along with ₹35,000 fine; and three-month jail sentence, along with a fine of ₹5,000, to Puneet Chabra, 41, alias Kaka, of Kotakpura in Faridkot, currently a resident of Phase 3B2, Mohali.
The trio was booked under the NDPS Act at the STF police station in Phase 4, Mohali.
As per case files, on December 14, 2017, police were patrolling near old courts complex, Phase 3B2, when around 1.50 pm, Kaka was seen coming from the Phase-3B2 market.
On spotting the police party, he tried to turn back, but was chased and apprehended on the basis of suspicion.
On frisking him, police recovered 20 gm heroin from his pocket, along with ₹1.40 lakh.
Kaka disclosed during interrogation that he got the recovered heroin from Uche, who was residing in Delhi.
On January 20, 2018, police apprehend Uche from the Labour Chowk, Burari Bypass, near Sant Nagar, Delhi.
Police recovered another 100 gm heroin from him.
Uche further revealed that he used to procure heroin from another Nigerian Okeke, following which the latter was arrested from Delhi on January 22, 2018. Police recovered 300 gm heroin from him as well.
When arrested, both Uche and Okeke could not produce any travel document or visa, and were also convicted under the Foreigners Act.
Pleading for leniency, Kaka said his parents died during trial, his wife had ovarian cancer and he had a minor son to take care of. While convicting the trio, the court observed the cases under the NDPS Act were on an alarming rise. “It not only affects the health of the young generation, but also has bearing on the social and moral fabric of society as a whole,” it added.