Man smuggled 12kg charas in ambulance as court decides case
Court finds prosecution evidence convincing
Special Judge (Control of Narcotics) Sumbal Naseer announced the verdict against Arif Khan, a resident of Bannu district. The court also ordered the confiscation of the state-owned vehicle used in the offence.
In its 21-page judgment, the court said the prosecution had presented consistent evidence against Khan. The evidence included the recovery record, the chain of custody of the samples and a positive Forensic Science Laboratory report.
The court ruled: “For the foregoing reasons, I find that the prosecution has proved, through consistent, natural and unshaken testimony, corroborated by the recovery memo, the chain of custody of samples, and the positive report of Forensic Science Laboratory, that accused Arif Khan was in conscious possession of twelve kilograms of charas a commercial quantity concealed within the vehicle under his control.”
12kg of charas recovered from ambulance
The court said the defence failed to challenge the prosecution’s evidence or create reasonable doubt in the case. “The charge stands proved beyond reasonable doubt,” the judge ruled.
According to the prosecution, Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) officials stopped the ambulance on Ring Road on Jan 8, 2025. The vehicle was being driven by Khan when the ANF team intercepted it.
During questioning, Khan allegedly admitted that narcotics had been hidden inside secret cavities of the ambulance. Officials then recovered 10 packets containing 12 kilograms of charas from those concealed spaces.
Accused denies involvement in drug case
Following the recovery, the ANF registered an FIR at its police station in Peshawar. Khan was charged with possessing and trafficking a commercial quantity of narcotics.
Khan denied the allegations and claimed that he had been falsely implicated in the case. He said that on Jan 7, 2025, he was sleeping at home when some people came to ask about the registration of the vehicle.
He claimed that he told them he had already sold the ambulance to a man named Raees Khan. According to his version, he no longer had possession of the vehicle but was still linked to it because its registration remained in his name.
ANF rejects defence and court delivers verdict
The ANF special prosecutor rejected Khan’s claims during the proceedings. The prosecutor argued that Khan had been caught red-handed by the raiding team and was directly named in the FIR.
After examining the evidence and arguments from both sides, the court found the prosecution’s case proven beyond reasonable doubt. Khan was therefore sentenced to life imprisonment, fined Rs500,000 and ordered to forfeit the vehicle involved in the offence.
The case shows how hidden compartments in vehicles can be used to transport large quantities of illegal drugs. The court relied on recovery records, forensic evidence and the handling of the seized samples before reaching its decision.
The defence claimed that Khan no longer owned the vehicle, but the court found that this did not create enough doubt against the prosecution’s evidence. The life sentence and fine highlight the serious legal consequences of trafficking commercial quantities of narcotics.
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