International drug racket ‘mastermind’ fights extradition to India

LONDON: A PIO in Britain accused of being the mastermind behind an international drugs syndicate that supplies party drugs across India is fighting extradition to India.
Kishan Singh, 36, is said to be the kingpin of an international drugs racket that led to the arrest of former Indian athlete and Commonwealth Youth Games silver medallist Harpreet Singh, 32, in Delhi in February 2017, alongside two others.
Kishan, who has British citizenship but hails from Rajasthan, allegedly would send parcels of class B recreational drugs such as amphetamines, meow meow (mephedrone) and methaqualone to Mumbai, from where they would be carried to Delhi, Punjab and Gujarat by Indian agents, of which Harpreet was one, Westminster magistrates’ court heard on Monday.
Kishan is accused in India of conspiring to supply illegal drugs together with Harpreet, Amandeep Singh and Harnish Sarpal from west Delhi. The latter are in custody in India awaiting trial and have given statements implicating Kishan. The Indian government wants to extradite Kishan to stand trial with them, but Kishan is contesting the extradition. Monday was the first day of his extradition trial.
Amandeep and Harpreet were caught red-handed with 25kg of the drugs in zip pouches on February 15, 2017 at New Delhi railway station following an Indian police sting operation. The duo had flown to Mumbai to collect the rave drugs and bring them back to Delhi by train. But what they did not know was that since January 19, 2017 for 60 days the UK home secretary had given authorisation to intercept Kishan’s phone calls. Calls between Kishan and the other three discussing plans to collect a consignment of banned drugs from Mumbai in February 2017 were intercepted. The duo were nabbed at New Delhi railway station and Harnish was later arrested.
The court heard that Kishan lived a life of luxury and had a lavish wedding in 2013 in Rajasthan for which he hired a helicopter. “Amandeep had known Kishan from having lived in London and saw that he could get handsome money for each consignment of drugs he delivered,” Daniel Sternberg, representing the Indian government, said.
“In 2011 Kishan offered Harnish a drugs job, asking him to manage his business in India and said he had contacts with big drug dealers in Dubai. Kishan wanted someone to deliver drugs from Mumbai to Delhi. Harpal knew Amandeep and so in 2014 Amandeep and Harnish started to collect drugs from Mumbai to Delhi,” Sternberg said. He said although Kishan was in the UK, he was “conspiring and committing offences intended to cause harm in India”. The court heard Harnish had known Kishan since 2007, both had also met in London, and that between 2008 and 2011 Kishan had lived in India.
Kishan, on conditional bail on a security of £15,000 (Rs 13 lakh), appeared in the dock in fashionable blue jeans and a trendy blue and white sweater, alongside a Hindi interpreter.
If extradited to India, Kishan will be housed in Tihar jail complex. “The common areas have exercise, yoga, meditation and strolling,” Sternberg told the judge.
In a lighter moment, district judge John Zani, reading the government assurances about food in the prison, asked: “What is jiggery? Jaggery?”
Sternberg said: “I believe jaggery is a sweet syrup — you can use it in certain circumstances to make rum but I don’t think that is what is intended for I am sorry I have a lack of detail about jiggery. Perhaps we can bring some samples in.”
Zani replied: “I think not.”
Ben Keith, representing Kishan, stated Kishan would face a breach of articles 3 (torture), 5 (detained without good reason) and 6 (unfair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights if extradited, and that there was no case to answer and the extradition request was “vague”. He also claimed evidence from the alleged co-conspirators was inadmissible and that an independent inspection of Tihar prison was required.
If convicted, Kishan will face up to 20 years in prison in India.