The special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) court on Wednesday sentenced a Zimbabwe national to 10 years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs2 lakh for carrying 8.5kg of methamphetamine and heroin while traveling from Zimbabwe to Mumbai in 2022.
Details of case
Rosie Diamon was held on February 12, 2022, by the intelligence unit of the Customs department after a tip-off. The officer kept a watch on all the passengers, checked Diamon’s trolley bag and found several file folders with pages lined with a yellowish powder, granules and white crystals. She was formally arrested the next day.
The court began the trial in June last year, wherein Diamon pleaded not guilty and said that her cousin, who is a part of a gang in Zimbabwe, lured her with money and asked to carry a bag to India and bring back medical equipment.
Special judge AV Kharkar observed that the accused didn’t deny that the contraband was recovered from the bag found in her possession. In her written arguments, she submitted who handed the bag to her. “In such a case, the court will have to presume that the contraband’s possession was a conscious one,” the court said.
The prosecution sought a maximum punishment of 20 years under the law for bringing narcotics to India in commercial quantities. Diamon, however, pleaded for leniency and contended that she had no idea about the bag’s contents. She said she is from a poor family and has young children.
