PANAJI
In a setback for the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Goa, the Bombay High Court at Goa upheld the bail granted to Onyeka Egike, an alleged notorious drug trafficker. The Bench of Justice Bharat Deshpande noted the absence of a CFSL report confirming the presence of psychotropic substances in commercial quantity, as claimed by the investigating officer.
The NCB had challenged the bail granted to the Nigerian by the Special Court, arguing that the contraband found with him was allegedly of a commercial quantity of drugs.
The bench acknowledged that the drugs had been seized, sealed, and sent for laboratory analysis. However, it noted the absence of a CFSL report confirming the substance as LSD in commercial quantity.
“The bail application was filed only on the ground that there is no material to show that the alleged contraband found and attached from the Respondent was in fact LSD and that too in commercial quantity. The Trial Court considered this aspect and observed that in the absence of the Field Testing Kit Report as well as the report from the laboratory, the Accused/Respondent cannot be detained further,” the HC said.
Claiming that such findings of the learned Special Court cannot be considered as perverse or illegal, Justice Deshpande dismissed the NCB’s appeal and maintained the bail granted to the foreign national.
