3 get life term for drug peddling

A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced three drug peddlers to life imprisonment for possessing 2,300 bottles of Phensedyl in February 2005. 

The convicts are Omar Faruque, Md Khokon and Md Anwar Hossain. They were also fined Tk 50,000 each, in default of which they will have to suffer one more year in jail.

Another accused Md Jamal alias Rony was given two years’ rigorous imprisonment for the same offence. He will also be fined Tk 10,000, in failing he will suffer six more months in jail.

Of the convicts, Omar is still at large while three others were present at the court during yesterday’s verdict.

The punishment of the convict will be effective from the day of his surrender or arrest.

Judge Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Special Judge Court-5 of Dhaka handed down the sentence.

The judge said the convicts were given life in jail instead of death sentence considering their age and circumstantial evidence.

Earlier the prosecution and defence completed their arguments and the court recorded statements of seven prosecution witnesses including the complainant of the case.

According to the prosecution, it was alleged that a team of the narcotics control department raided a house in the capital’s Nilkhet around 7pm on February 9, 2005, from where they arrested one Md Jamal with five bottles of Phensedyl in his possession.

After gleaning information from him, the team seized another 2,295 bottles which were in possession of the other three.

Later a case under the Narcotics Control Act was filed against the men with Dhanmondi Police Station.

After an investigation, the narcotics control department pressed charges against them on April 25 the same year.