Cocaine seizure: Accused in judicial custody till Sept 9

Customs officials and the court staff had a tough time dealing with the two women caught with 6kg cocaine on Wednesday at the city’s international airport, as the women were not fluent in English.

Customs officials and the court staff had a tough time dealing with the two women caught with 6kg cocaine on Wednesday at the city’s international airport, as the women were not fluent in English.

HT Image

The two women, Edyma Siregar, 45, an Indonesian, and Ly Lygocle, 64, a Vietnamese, had allegedly smuggled cocaine into the country from Benin, a West African country.

They were produced before the magistrate court on Thursday afternoon.

The customs officials pleaded that they be sent to judicial custody, since the investigation is pending.

The court has remanded the two in judicial custody till September 6.

When the magistrate called them, they told him that they were not very fluent in English. When the court asked them formal questions about their names and if they had any complaints against the officials, they were unable to understand.

The court and advocates had to rely on gestures to communicate with them.

The prosecution pleaded that the women be sent to judicial custody. As per the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, they will be produced before the special NDPS court for the next hearing.

Officials found that their suitcases had false bottoms, in which they had hidden the cocaine.

While four kg of cocaine was recovered from Siregar’s bag, another two kg was found in Lygocle’s suitcase.