Ugandan | Pakistan

KARACHI: A Special Court (Control of Narcotic Substances) has sentenced a Ugandan woman to seven-year imprisonment for smuggling cocaine after she pleaded guilty of the crime. Special Court (CNS) Judge Rajesh Chander Rajput convicted accused Nakawa Edihi of the offence punishable under Section 9 (1) 7 (b) of the CNS Act, 1997 (as Amended in 2022). According to state prosecutor Abdul Hannan, the accused arrived in Pakistan in January after allegedly concealing 11 capsules containing 144 gram of cocaine in her stomach. She was apprehended by an Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) team at the Jinnah International Airport. However, when she appeared before the court for framing of formal charges, she voluntarily pleaded guilty and prayed for mercy. On her admission, the court recorded her statement under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), in which she confessed to the offence. Court takes a lenient view in handing down jail term after accused pleads guilty “I have heard the accused have thoroughly gone thr...