Karnataka high court: Guatemalan woman caught with 1.4 kg cocaine at KIA denied bail

BENGALURU: The high court refused bail to a Guatemalan woman who has been accused of transporting cocaine. It said the argument that she is in custody for two years and three months cannot be a ground to grant bail in a case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Herrera Valenzuela de Lopez, a resident of Villanova in Guatemala, landed in Bengaluru from Addis Ababa via an Ethiopian Airlines flight on March 2, 2020. Customs Intelligence Unit officials found she was carrying 1.4 kg of cocaine in powder and capsule forms, including in her vagina and rectum. She had swallowed some capsules too.
In her plea, Herrera said she has been in custody for two years and three months. Further, no charges were framed against her as there was no Spanish translator available to assist the court.
However, Jeevan J Neeralagi, special counsel for the customs department, said the court has to take note of the way she was transporting cocaine. He argued that she not only swallowed the capsules but also hid them in her private parts. “It is clear the petitioner carried the capsules with an intention to distribute them and make wrongful gain. This is an offence against society at large and hence, the petitioner is not entitled to bail,” he submitted.
Justice HP Sandesh noted that when the charge of an offence against society at large is invoked under NPS Act, the contention of two years and three months in custody cannot be a ground for granting bail. The judge, however, said it is the prosecution’s duty to make arrangements to appoint a translator well-versed with Spanish to assist the court in order to frame charges against her.