Former judge convicted for carrying contraband Phensedyl surrenders in court

A former judge, convicted for carrying contraband drugs, has turned himself before a Dhaka court.

In 2013, Bhola district’s former senior assistant judge Javed Imam was sentenced to four years in jail for possession of Phensedyl.

Phensedyl is an Indian cough syrup, much in demand with addicts, because it contains chemicals that give consumers a fix.

Imam surrendered to the court of an additional metropolitan sessions judge’s court on Sunday, said his lawyer Shamsuzzaman.

He filed a bail petition, which the court will hear on Aug 24.

The court said until the hearing, Imam’s bail, which he secured from High Court, will remain valid.

The Appellate Division last week cleared the State’s petition to appeal against a High Court verdict, which had acquitted him and ordered the former judge to surrender within a week.

On Dec 1, 2012, police nabbed Imam from Dhaka with 342 bottles of Phensedyl on him.

A case was filed under the Narcotics Control Act against Imam the following day at the New Market Police Station.

Police pressed the charges in the court against him on Dec 20.

A Dhaka court found him guilty the next year and sentenced him to four years in prison.

Imam moved the High Court and in February 2015, the court acquitted him after scrapping the trial court’s verdict.

The State filed a petition with the Appellate Division the same year seeking to appeal against the High Court’s decision, which was heard last week.