NDPS court acquits Mizo TT star Lalrin Puia four years after arrest

Puia, who won the Youth Boys title in the 77th Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships held at Dharmashala in 2015 and also represented India in South Asian Junior Singles Championship

Mumbai A special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court on Monday acquitted former junior table tennis champion Lalrin Puia, four years after he was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for allegedly smuggling 3.9 kg Methaqualone, a banned psychotropic substance.

Acting on a specific tip-off, NCB officials had on December 12, 2017, intercepted Puia at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, when he returned from Mozambique along with another table tennis player. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Puia, who won the Youth Boys title in the 77th Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships held at Dharmashala in 2015 and also represented India in South Asian Junior Singles Championship, is likely to be released from jail on Tuesday.

Acting on a specific tip-off, NCB officials had on December 12, 2017, intercepted Puia at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, when he returned from Mozambique along with another table tennis player.

The NCB officials had allegedly found 3.9 kg powder, perceived to be Methaqualone, from his trolley. Its sample testing by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Hyderabad showed it contained heroin, acetyl codeine and mono acetyl morphine.

NCB officials claimed that the drug was valued at ₹60 lakh in the illicit market and since it was of commercial quantity, stringent provision of Section 37(1)(b) of the NDPS Act was invoked.

In his interrogation, Puia had informed the NCB officials that he was lured to visit Mozambique on a sponsored trip along with another table tennis player. He said that while returning, an African friend had given him a bag and requested him to hand it over to one of his friends in Delhi. He was told the bag contained clothes.

Puia’s counsel, advocate Taraq Sayyed and Bhavana Gada, had pointed out to the court that the Aizwal resident’s flight details showed that he did not carry any luggage with him and the seized baggage that the agency claimed belonged to had a different flight number.

“We are very happy with the acquittal. We think justice has been finally done. If Lalrin Puia wants to return to the game, the association will support him in full,” said Lalhmingliana Colney, senior vice-president of Mizoram Table Tennis Association.