Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Oct 12: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has upheld the conviction and 10-year rigorous imprisonment of Micah Gumbi from Aurangabad, who had falsely posed as a Nigerian national named Elijah Malcolm Onyango to evade detection in a narcotics case.

Gumbi was earlier convicted by the Special Court, South Goa, Margao, for trafficking cocaine and possessing MDMA and LSD under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. He was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for up to ten years and fined accordingly.

The case dates back to December 30, 2017, when Canacona police, acting on specific intelligence, intercepted a suspect at Palolem beach believed to be delivering narcotics. The man, identified as “Elijah Malcolm Onyango,” was found carrying LSD, cocaine, and Ecstasy tablets. Further investigation revealed his true identity as Micah Gumbi.

During the trial, Gumbi denied the charges, claiming that the case was fabricated and that no contraband was found in his possession. However, the prosecution maintained that he was caught with a commercial quantity of drugs and that the trial court had rightly convicted him.

The High Court noted that the accused neither testified in his defence nor produced any witnesses. Upholding the lower court’s judgment, Justice Shreeram Shirsat stated that the appeal was “liable to be dismissed” and confirmed the sentence imposed by the Special Court.