Thane, Aug 19 (PTI) A special court in Thane has convicted a 53-year-old man for illegally manufacturing and possessing mephedrone and sentenced him to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment, while acquitting a co-accused due to lack of evidence.
Passing the order on August 17, Additional Sessions Judge Mahesh S Lone found Bhanudas Vasantrao More, alias Aditya Patil, guilty under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on More.
Another co-accused was handed a one-year jail sentence.
Additional Public Prosecutor Vibhavari Y Pathak told the court that a team from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, raided a factory in Palghar on March 19, 2017 and recovered 238.20 kg of mephedrone in slurry form, alongside raw materials and manufacturing equipment. Additionally, 1.012 grams of the drug was seized from More’s car.
Rejecting the defence argument claiming technical flaws in procedure, the court said, “Just because all the witnesses are officers or government employees that does not give a ground to disbelieve their evidence in toto.” Co-accused Wazhul Qamer Abdul Wafa Choudhary (48) was acquitted of manufacturing and financing charges but convicted for possessing 442 grams of ganja recovered from his residence and vehicle. He was sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000.
Another co-accused, Manish Mathurbhai Serasia (32), was acquitted of all charges for lack of evidence. The fourth accused, Rauff Lulania, passed away during trial, leading to abatement of charges against him. PTI COR NR
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