French tourist acquitted by court in hashish case | Asia

French tourist acquitted by court in hashish case

For the 34-year-old French national Le Moigne Domelle, a leisure trip to India turned into a nightmare after she was arrested by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) in February 2006 for allegedly trying to smuggle hashish.
She spent a year and seven months in Byculla prison before she was acquitted of the offence on Saturday. She was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

As per the statement given to the AIU, Domelle is a psychologist and an instructor for disabled children in Nantes, France.

Domelle came to India as a tourist in August 2005. On February 2, 2006, AIU officials arrested her at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at Sahar, as she was about to board a flight to Zurich.

The officials allegedly found 9,732 grams of hashish in her baggage. The prosecution alleged that Domelle intended to smuggle and sell the contraband after she reached Zurich. However, Domelle denied any knowledge of the existence of any such material in her luggage.
Her advocate Taraq Sayed told the court that the date on the complaint made by the AIU was different from the dates on her baggage’s claim tags.

Sayed added that copies of the panchanama and Domelle’s flight tickets to Zurich were different from those that were presented
before the court.

Domelle was acquitted on account of technical errors on the prosecution’s part.

http://www.dnaindia.com

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