A special court today pulled up Mumbai Police for not following the mandatory provisions of NDPS Act in connection with the arrest of eight Pakistani nationals who were apprehended by the Coast Guard off Gujarat coast last month.
"Have you complied with the provisions of section 50 (conditions under which search of persons shall be conducted) of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act?" special NDPS Judge G A Sanap told the police.
A boat carrying 232 kgs of narcotics, whose market value is pegged at Rs 600 crore, was seized on April 20 and eight Pakistani crew on its board were arrested in a joint intelligence-based operation by Indian Navy and Coast Guard from international waters off Gujarat coast.
The case was later transferred the Yellow Gate police in Mumbai.
Seeking the remand of the accused, the police had told the court that they wanted extension of the custody of the accused to get details regarding the intended recipient of the drugs and also to investigate the role of three persons named by the accused during the interrogation.
Terming the investigations "faulty", the Judge said that when the court asked about the possession of the recovered boats and the satellite phone, the investigation officer said that it was with the Customs Department.
"How can you investigate without boats and phones (in your custody)? How will you cross check the call details"? the Judge said.
The court then extended the police custody of all the accused till May 8.
