Ugandan caught smuggling heroin gets 10 years RI

Source: The New Indian Express
Author: S Lalitha

BENGALURU: A Ugandan man has been sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment by a special Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court recently for smuggling heroin worth Rs 10 crore from Sharjah to Bengaluru. He has already completed over two years in jail and needs to complete the rest of his sentence.

The verdict, delivered by City Civil and Sessions judge BS Jayshree of the NDPS court, also includes a fine of Rs 1 lakh or an additional year of imprisonment in case of failure to pay it.

"The verdict dates back to an incident that occurred on February 16, 2022, when Katongole Patrick (29 years of age at that time) was caught attempting to smuggle 847 grams of heroin. He had concealed the substance as oval capsules and had swallowed them. Following an intelligence tipoff, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) caught him," a source told TNIE.

Patrick, who arrived by an Air Arabia flight, was planning to leave for Delhi when he was caught. "It was heroin of extremely superior quality with a market value of Rs 10 crore. The incident created quite a stir as it was the first time someone had tried to smuggle such a huge quantity through one's stomach," the source added.

The Ugandan was then taken to a local government hospital to facilitate extrication of the capsules, he added. He confessed that they were not intended for Bengaluru, but for Delhi.

Patrick is already incarcerated in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison and will be made to complete his 10-year term, he added.

This is the second verdict delivered in recent times, when a foreigner has been sent to 10 years in jail. The previous instance involved a Zimbabwean, Masumba Taradzwa, who was caught by the DRI for smuggling 8 kg and 140 grams of heroin. "That was of ordinary quality and valued at Rs 30 crore. The incident occurred on June 30, 2021, and he is also lodged in the Central jail," the source said.