A local court has sentenced a drug peddler to three years' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000, bringing to conclusion an 18-year-old narcotics case, the Jammu unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Sunday.
The NCB secured the conviction of Kunnu Bharti alias Abhinandan, who had jumped bail granted in 2010 and remained beyond the reach of the trial for several years, a spokesperson of the agency said.
On December 3, 2008, a team of NCB recovered 960 grams of charas, concealed in a polythene bag, from the possession of Bharti in Kashmir Basti area of Jammu.
During the course of the trial, the accused jumped bail granted in 2010, resulting in the proceedings against him remaining pending, the spokesperson said.
In a significant breakthrough, he said the NCB subsequently traced him to Jammu's Amphalla jail, and secured his production before the competent court in August last year, thereby bringing him back within the judicial process.
It wasn't immediately clear under which case the accused was sent to Amphalla jail.
Following sustained legal proceedings, a special NDPS court here sentenced Bharti to three years' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on August 11, the official said.
In default of payment of the fine, he will undergo a further two months' rigorous imprisonment, the spokesperson said, adding that the court also directed that, before his release, the convict furnish a bond of Rs 20,000 under Section 34 of the NDPS Act, undertaking not to repeat such offences in future.
The conviction marks the successful conclusion of a case dating back nearly 18 years and demonstrates NCB Jammu's resolve to pursue drug offenders even where they attempt to evade the judicial process by jumping bail, the spokesperson said.
NCB reiterates its appeal to citizens to join the fight against drug trafficking.
"Information regarding the sale, transportation or trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances may be shared through MANAS - National Narcotics Helpline or toll-free number (1933). The identity of informers is kept strictly confidential," the spokesman said.