Colva: A South Goa court granted bail to Ugandan national Justina Nagadya, arrested by customs officials in Nov 2023 for alleged possession of 530g of heroin.When Nagadya’s check-in baggage was scanned at the airport, the machine indicated organic material suspected to be a narcotic substance, said the prosecution. On examination, officials allegedly recovered 530g of a substance suspected to be heroin.Additional sessions judge Ram Subhrai Prabhu Dessai noted that the gazetted officer under Section 50 of the NDPS Act had allegedly acted like a member of the raiding team and an investigating officer.The court held that the prosecution had to show mandatory compliance with Section 50 safeguards before the search, but failed to establish such compliance. The court also said the alleged non-compliance could be treated as an independent ground for bail despite the NDPS Act’s stringent bail provisions.
