Aizawl, Jul 19 : A fast track court in Kolasib district of Mizoram has sentenced a 45-year-old man from Manipur’s Churachandpur to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment for drug trafficking, an official said on Saturday.
The court of judge R Vanlalena on Friday convicted Seikholen Kongsai, a resident Churachandpur’s Saikot locality, and sentenced him to undergo 14 years of rigorous imprisonment for possessing 1.74 kg of heroin, the official said.
Khongsai was also fined Rs 1 lakh, and he will undergo an additional six months of imprisonment if he fails to pay the fine, he said.
The judge acquitted three co-accused, who were arrested along with Khongsai, due to lack of sufficient evidence, the official said.
Khongsai and the three others were arrested by Kolasib district police on August 21, 2023 at Thingdawl village near Kolasib town for transporting heroin in an unregistered car from Manipur.
Initially, he was found in possession of 1.64 kg of heroin.
Based on inputs provided by one of the four accused, police seized an additional 100 grams of heroin from the same vehicle.
The four accused were booked under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
Investigations revealed that the narcotics had been smuggled in from Myanmar and were intended for distribution in Kolasib town.
Forensic experts were brought in to support the investigation and a detailed charge sheet was later filed before the court.
The judge noted that the amount of heroin seized from the accused fell under the commercial quantity category as defined by Section 21 (C) of the NDPS Act.
As such, a stringent sentence was warranted, he noted. (PTI)
