Ahmedabad: A city sessions court on Wednesday sentenced a Ugandan woman to 20 years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on her for drug trafficking. Mukakibibi Charic was arrested at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Feb 15, 2022, after an officer of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence received a tip-off. The agency learned that she was carrying heroin-filled capsules in her stomach. She was taken to the Civil Hospital, where 79 capsules containing 868 grams of heroin were recovered.Charic pleaded not guilty and was prosecuted for the violation of the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS). After the trial, Special NDPS judge V B Rajput found her guilty and punished her with 20 years in jail.The court said, “Drug trafficking is a very serious and challenging issue. Due to such accused individuals who are running drug rackets in India from abroad, many families are destroyed. Adolescents going to schools and colleges ruin their youth due to addiction to such substances. In this case, the female accused hid 79 capsules in her stomach, and during treatment at the Civil Hospital, these capsules were extracted. Thus, the accused put her life at risk for financial gain. This female accused is involved in international drug trafficking.”
