The North Goa Special NDPS Court has acquitted 45-year-old Nigerian national Prince Ezenwa of drug-trafficking charges after finding that the prosecution failed to prove the search and seizure beyond reasonable doubt and committed serious procedural violations.
Ezenwa, who spent nearly seven years and 10 months in custody following his arrest in November 2018, was granted the benefit of the doubt and ordered to be released forthwith. According to the prosecution, an ANC team intercepted Ezenwa in the early hours of November 30, 2018, near the entrance to the Monte Guirim Football Ground in Bardez.
The police claimed to have seized commercial quantities of psychotropic substances from his possession, comprising 20 perforated LSD papers weighing 0.317 grams and 10.362 grams of charas. Ezenwa was subsequently booked and charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
During the trial, the prosecution examined 11 witnesses, including investigating officers, panchas and a forensic expert. However, the case came under strain during cross-examination by the defence advocate. The court observed stark inconsistencies in the testimonies of the two independent pancha witnesses examined by the prosecution.
One of them admitted to having known several police personnel involved in the raid for years, leading the court to conclude that he was a “stock witness” for the police. Furthermore, while the charge sheet stated that the raid took place at the Monte Guirim Football Ground, the pancha witnesses testified that it occurred at the Sangolda football ground. They also contradicted other witnesses on the timing of the raid and gave conflicting accounts of how the raiding party had positioned itself.
A crucial factor in the acquittal was the police’s alleged non-compliance with the law, which guarantees an accused person the right to be searched in the presence of an independent Gazetted Officer or a Magistrate. The court further pointed out that the police had failed to record the required reasons in writing or notify a superior officer within 72 hours, as required by law.
The defence also highlighted irregularities in the inventory proceedings. The trial court observed that the mandatory inventory photographs did not show the Executive Magistrate or the Police Inspector, lacked magistrate certification, and failed to depict the opening or resealing of the sample envelopes. Furthermore, the seals used during the raid and subsequent inventory proceedings were entrusted to the Deputy Superintendent of Police, creating potential vulnerabilities in the chain of custody. “In the absence of proving the search and seizure panchanama beyond reasonable doubt, it cannot be said that the said narcotics were found in the conscious possession of the accused,” the court noted. It added that the accused’s prolonged pre-trial incarceration under the stringent provisions of Section 37 was evidence of prejudice. Holding that the accused had successfully rebutted the statutory presumptions on a preponderance of probabilities, the court acquitted Prince Ezenwa and ordered his release upon execution of a personal bond of Rs 20,000.
