Chukha dzongkhag court sentenced a Taktse College student to six years in prison for trafficking Spasmo Proxyvon Plus and Nitrosun last week.

Gedu Police arrested the student, Sonam Wangchen, 23, from Phongmey in Trashigang with 134 capsules of Spasmo Proxyvon Plus and 50 tablets of Nitrosun (N10) on August 29 this year.

The defendant submitted to court that he had brought in the controlled substances for his consumption.

The judgment stated that the Supreme Court (SC), in its judgment on July 26 this year ruled that one of the main contents of Spasmo Proxyvon Plus, Tramadol, is a controlled substance and that any person found in possession or testing positive should be penalised as per the Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, and Substance Abuse Act 2015.

The court, convicted him for violating the NDPSSAA 2015’s section 139, which states that a defendant shall be guilty of the offence of illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances if he or she possesses, imports, exports, stores, sells, purchases, transports, distributes, or supplies any substances under Schedules III and IV of this Act regardless of the degree of purity.

Schedule III of the Act includes narcotic drugs with medicinal value, and the Schedule IV is on the psychotropic substances with medicinal value.

The Act’s section 141 categorises the offence of illicit trafficking of any substance listed in Schedule III and IV of this Act as a felony of third-degree if the quantity is equal to or more than two times the quantity determined in Schedule VII of the Act.

The minimum quantity for illicit trafficking under schedule VII is 10 pieces in case of tablets and capsules for narcotic drugs having medicinal value and 15 pieces for psychotropic substances having medicinal value.

The sentence for a third-degree felony ranges between five and nine years.

The judgment stated that since Sonam Wangchen did not have prior criminal record, he was given the minimum prison term of five years for trafficking SP Plus.

He was also found guilty of trafficking Nitrosun 10mg (N10), which also constitutes a third-degree felony and merits a prison term form five to nine years.

The court, however, gave him a concurrent sentence of six years.

Tshering Palden

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