Court jails Nigerian in a drug case

A 33-year-old Nigerian national, arrested for possessing five kgs of a narcotic substance, has been jailed for 27 months by a Delhi court which ordered that he be deported to his native country after undergoing the sentence here.

Special NDPS Judge Shail Jain convicted Anene Sylvester under the provision of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Foreigners Act for possessing five kgs of contraband ephedrine. The judge, however, took a "lenient view" while sentencing him considering his "young age".

Besides Sylvester, the court also sentenced Indore-based Asif Kureshi, 31, to 10 months in jail as he was also involved in the supply of ephedrine to Sylvester. The court, however, released Kureshi as he has already undergone the period of jail term during the pendency of case. "Prosecution has proved its case by way of testimonies of nine witnesses, that accused Anene Sylvester was found in possession of illegal contraband--5 kgs of ephedrine as is proved by FSL report and accused Asif Kureshi was involved in conspiracy of supplying ephedrine to accused Anene Sylvester," the court said.

It also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 and Rs 4,000 on Sylvester and Kureshi respectively.

The court directed the Foreigner Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) officials to deport Sylvester to Nigeria after completion of the sentence. "It is further directed that after completion of the period of sentence awarded, convict Anene Sylvester shall be handed over to FRRO authorities, being a Nigerian national, along with all his belongings and documents, if any, for the purposes of deportation as per rules. Copy of this order be sent to jail authorities and FRRO authorities for compliance," the judge said.

As per the prosecution, Sylvester along with Kureshi had been involved in the supply of ephedrine and on March 1, 2012, the Nigerian was apprehended in Gandhi Nagar here with 5 kgs ephedrine which was supplied to him by Kureshi. The prosecution also said that Sylvester was also found to be living in India after expiry of his visa.

During the trial, statements of both the accused were recorded in which they admitted to their guilt. Sylvester admitted to having received five kgs of ephedrine from Kureshi.

While convicting Sylvester under the Foreigners Act, the court said there was nothing on record to conclude that he had a valid visa to stay in India.