LHC dismisses post arrest bail of alleged bhang smuggler

Truck driver claims he was unaware of the 3,200 kgs of drugs found from the vehicle

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court on Tuesday dismissed a post-arrest bail for an accused arrested for allegedly smuggling 3,200 kilogrammes of bhang – an edible mixture made from the buds, leaves, and flowers of the cannabis plant.

The counsel of the accused claimed that the accused had no role in the matter and was merely driving a small truck, a statement that elicited laughter from the court.

Justice Shehram Sarwar maintained that he might have been granted bail if the illegal substance was in a small quantity, but the accused was found driving a truck containing 3,200 kg of bhang which was “astonishing”.

Justice Shehram asked the accused’s counsel how much time he had spent in jail, to which the lawyer stated that he had been incarcerated for five months.

The judge then questioned why the counsel was in a hurry as the case was “not as simple” as the accused’s counsel portrayed it to be.

“Sir, the matter is so simple”, the counsel countered.

Justice Shehram reiterated that the accused was caught driving a truck with a very large amount of bhang, which was no “simple matter”.

He emphasised that the matter would have been handled differently had it been one or two kilogrammes, however, this case dealt with 3,200 kg of drugs.

The court dismissed the plea with the post-arrest bail withdrawn by the accused, and the concerned court was directed to conclude the trial within three months.

According to the case details, accused Asif Ali had filed post-arrest bail in the LHC contending that he had been implicated in a false case and that he had nothing to do with the criminal act.

He maintained that no recovery had been made from him, no independent witnesses were available against him and that he was arrested from a public place.

He had requested the court to grant him post-arrest bail.

The FIR was registered by Sadar police station Gujranwala under section 9-CNSA 1997 against the accused Asif Ali – the driver of a Mazda truck – Zohaib and Arsalan (co-accused).

Due to a tip-off, the truck was intercepted at a vegetable market in Gujranwala and 160 bags containing bhang were recovered from the vehicle.

The accused told police officials that they took the bhang from Gujranwala to Karachi where they would receive a good price for it.