'Drug baroness' Anmol alias Pinky acquitted in two more cases

• Anmol alias Pinki produced before court via video link.
• Court acquits Pinki in two cases for lack of evidence.
• Court orders Pinki’s release if not wanted in other cases.
  

KARACHI: A local court in Karachi on Friday acquitted alleged cocaine trafficker Anmol alias Pinki in two more narcotics cases registered in the port city, citing lack of evidence.

The narcotics cases against her were registered with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in 2018 and at the Gizri police station. After being acquitted in two more cases, Pinky has now been cleared in five of the 22 cases registered against her.

At the outset of today’s hearing, Pinky was produced before the additional district and sessions judge (South) via video link in connection with the two narcotics cases.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge ordered the police to release the suspect from the women’s jail if she was not wanted in any other case.

In August, a local court in Karachi had acquitted Pinky in three narcotics cases registered against her at the Gizri police station.

Pinky was reportedly arrested on May 12 from her apartment in Karachi’s Garden area during a joint raid by police and a civilian intelligence agency for allegedly running a "network of drug supply" across the city. However, the suspect had denied the claim, alleging she was detained in Lahore 15 days before being shifted to Karachi.

At the time, the authorities had said that a weapon, cocaine, and other drugs worth around Rs1.5 million were recovered from her possession. Investigators had told the court on May 13 that 1,540 grams of cocaine and 6,970 grams of raw material were seized during the arrest operation.

Her case came into the limelight after a video showing her being escorted by police officials without handcuffs at the court premises went viral on social media. The police’s special treatment of the notorious drug peddler had sparked large-scale criticism on social media platforms.