Drug haul: Court grants five day custody of Zubair to NCB

KOCHI: The Ernakulam additional sessions court sent Zubair Derakhshandeh of Chabahar in Iran, the accused in the seizure of Methamphetamine in the Arabian Sea, to the custody of Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB). The court accepted the NCB's contention that a detailed investigation was necessary, taking into account the nature of the crime, the involvement of the accused, the quantity of drugs seized, etc.

Advocate BA Aloor, who appeared for the accused, argued that the drug was caught from outside the Indian maritime border and therefore the prior permission of the Central Government is required to take action in the case. Adv. CP Udayabhanu and Adv. Navaneeth, who appeared for the NCB, stated that the action in such a case does not require the permission of the Central Government. The NCB argued that the Supreme Court has made it clear that the police and investigative agencies have the power to arrest accused persons involved in crimes outside India. Custodial interrogation is necessary to know about the other accused in the case. Denial of custody on technical grounds will affect the investigation. It was also explained that more information will be collected from the Navy.

Additional Sessions Judge K Sanilkumar stated that there is no need to consider matters such as whether the drugs were nabbed from outside the Indian territorial waters, and rejected the arguments of the defense. Zubair was caught by the Indian Navy with 2525.675 kg of drugs and was handed over to the NCB in Kochi on May 15. The investigation team explained that there were six people in the group and five escaped before the navy caught them.