AHMEDABAD: A special NIA judge has refused bail to two accused persons, Pradeep Kumar Singh and Sobhan Aryanfar, in the 2,988-kg heroin haul at Mundra, which was busted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials and later probed by the National Investigation Agency.
Special judge Shubhada Baxi rejected the bail pleas with observation, “There is sufficient material which would prima facie establish the involvement of the applicant in a highly grave and serious offence as referred to herein above, which can be and in fact is classified as a narco-terrorist act wherein the youth including innocent young victims, have been targeted, so as to cause deleterious effects and a deadly impact on the society.”
The court further noted, “The offence involved herein is directly connected to and has implications relating to national security and harmony of the nation at large.”
Singh and Aryanfar had sought regular bail stating that the NIA has already filed chargesheet, and submitted that they were bound to follow the conditions imposed by the court. Aryanfar also cited his wife’s ailment as a ground for his release.
For NIA, special prosecutor Amit Nair opposed the bail pleas and submitted that Singh had facilitated the accused in this case in renting the warehouse in Alipur at Delhi for the safe storage of drugs consignment in lieu of monetary consideration. Highlighting the alleged role of Aryanfar, the prosecutor submitted that the modus operandi adopted in the case suggests a deep-rooted conspiracy hatched by an international cartel comprising of players based at Afghanistan, Iran and India.
Earlier this month, the court had refused bail to the couple Machavaram Sudhakar and his wife Govindaraju Durga Purna Vaishali, residents of Chennai who owned Aashi Trading Company, which had imported Talc powder from Afghanistan. The contraband was found from its containers.
