In a sharp rebuke to the Anti-Narcotic Cell of the Goa Police, the Merces Fast Track Court has acquitted Domnic Nweke, a 40-year-old Nigerian national accused of possessing commercial-grade cocaine, following the prosecution’s failure to produce the seized contraband before the court.

Taking serious note of the missing narcotics valued at Rs 5.5 lakh, the Court directed the Superintendent of Police (ANC) to launch an investigation into the disappearance of the case property and submit a report within six months.

The accused, Domnic Nweke, a native of Enugu, Nigeria, residing in Arambol, Pernem, was acquitted of charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Nweke had been languishing in judicial custody for over three years and eight months following his arrest in January 2023.

According to the prosecution, an ANC raiding party led by Ladies Police Sub-Inspector (LPSI) Priyanka Garodi intercepted Nweke on the evening of January 13, 2023, in a parking area behind Morjim Khind Garden in Pernem. The police claimed to have caught him in illegal possession of 55 grams of suspected cocaine valued at approximately Rs 5.5 lakh. Officers attached the contraband alongside a scooter, a mobile handset, and packing materials under a search panchanama. An FIR was registered the following day, and a formal chargesheet was filed before the court in March 2023.

The prosecution’s case unraveled during the trial when defense counsel pointed out that the material objects- most critically, the seized cocaine itself—had never been deposited or presented before the court.

During his cross-examination, Investigating Officer Rohan Madgaonkar admitted that despite reminders, he was unable to produce the seized properties pertaining to the Crime. The court observed that while the chargesheet falsely claimed the seized articles were deposited with the court, they were actually retained at the police station in clear violation of storage mandates laid down under the NDPS (Seizure, Storage, Sampling, and Disposal) Rules.

​Expressing grave concern over the missing narcotics, the court noted that "The Narcotic substance only which is attached under the possession and testified to be found in illegal possession of the accused is not before the Court nor any explanation has come forth from the Investigating Officer... which needs to be investigated as to where the Narcotic substance has disappeared and not produced before the Court even after many intimations by the Learned Public Prosecutor to the Investigating Officer."

The prosecution examined nine witnesses, including the chemical examiner and the executive magistrate who oversaw inventory proceedings. However, the court held that their testimonies carried no evidentiary weight in the absence of the physical contraband. Holding that the prosecution had "miserably failed" to prove conscious possession due to the missing contraband and the hostile independent witness, the Court ordered Nweke's immediate acquittal and the court has ordered the SP ANC to formally investigate the handling of the seized drugs and report on how the seized evidence vanished from custody.