Three drug smugglers get 15-year jail term in Assam methamphetamine case

Guwahati, Sep 4 (AHN) Three narcotics smugglers have been sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 2 lakh each by a special NDPS court in Assam's Kamrup (Metro) district for trafficking 2.146 kg of methamphetamine tablets, officials said on Friday.

The conviction was secured by the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) Guwahati Zonal Unit, in a case dating back to October 2020.

According to the NCB, acting on specific information, its Guwahati unit seized 2.146 kg of methamphetamine in tablet form near Rehaman Hospital Private Limited on VIP Road in the Six Mile-Khanapara area of Guwahati on October 14, 2020.

The contraband was allegedly recovered from three persons identified as Shakil Khan and Md. Yahiya Khan, both from Manipur, and Mithilesh Kumar of Bihar.

The NCB subsequently registered a case under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and arrested all three accused.

Following an investigation, the anti-narcotics agency filed its complaint before the court on April 8, 2021.

After completion of the trial, Special NDPS Judge at Guwahati's Kamrup (Metro) found Shakil Khan, Yahiya Khan and Mithilesh Kumar guilty under Sections 22(c), 28, 29, 35 and 54 of the NDPS Act.

The court pronounced the judgment on September 3, 2026, sentencing each of the three convicts to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 2 lakh.

In default of payment of the fine, each will undergo an additional one year of imprisonment.

The NCB said the judgment underlines the seriousness with which organised drug trafficking is being viewed and reaffirms the need for stringent action against narcotics networks.

"Those indulging in organised drug trafficking shall face no sympathy of the Court. The menace of narcotics must be dealt with an iron hand to safeguard the youth and protect the society at large," the agency said.

The NCB also appealed to the public to report information related to drug trafficking through the MANAS helpline at '1933'.