Delhi Court: Flags NCB Lapse in Drug Probe During Conviction

A Delhi court has flagged a “serious lapse” by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) after its Chandigarh unit failed to respond to requests from the agency’s Delhi unit for evidence in a drug trafficking case involving the attempted export of 560 grams of charas to the United Kingdom [NCB Vs Nympha].Special Judge Sandeep Yadav of the Rouse Avenue Courts made the observation while convicting Filipino citizen Nympha De Jesus under Section 23(b) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The court found that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that De Jesus had attempted to export the charas by concealing it inside a parcel.The Court expressed surprise that officers of the same central agency had failed to cooperate with each other during the investigation.“It is surprising that one official of NCB at Chandigarh is not co-operating with other official of NCB at Delhi in connection with investigation of present case,” the judge observed.The case arose from secret information received by the NCB in November 2015 about narcotics concealed in a parcel at a DHL facility in Delhi. When the parcel was opened, officials found a black book with dark brown material concealed in its front and back portions. The substance, weighing around 560 grams, tested positive for charas. The parcel was destined for Brighton in the United Kingdom. The prosecution relied, among other things, on the accused's passport details attached to the parcel and the testimony of a