NCB has indicated that it will contact the Qatari authorities through diplomatic channels and seek the release of the couple. | Photo credit: BCCL
Key points
- Oniba gave birth to her baby in Qatar in March this year.
- The couple’s relative identified as Tabassum Riaz Quereshi offered them a belated wedding gift and arranged a trip to Qatar on July 6, 2019.
Mumbai: A talented honeymoon trip to Qatar proved costly for a Mumbai couple after they were sent to jail shortly after landing in the Middle Eastern country. The couple identified as Oniba and Shareeq are in Qatari jail for more than a year on drug charges after a relative, who had sponsored the trip, packed 4 kg of hashish in their luggage.
The couple’s relative identified as Tabassum Riaz Quereshi offered them a belated wedding gift and arranged a trip to Qatar on July 6, 2019. As soon as the couple landed at Hamad International Airport, they were taken to prison for allegedly carrying drugs. in your luggage. .
According to a Times of India report, Oniba was pregnant with her first child when the incident occurred. Tabassum had told the couple that the package contained tobacco for a friend who lives in Doha.
Later, a Qatari court sentenced the couple to 10 years in prison and fined 1 cr of rupees for drug trafficking. Now, a year-long investigation by Mumbai police and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has concluded that the couple was cheated on by their aunt.
Tabassum and his partner Nizam Kara were arrested by the Mumbai police last year. However, they were released on bail in September this year.
On October 14, the NCB arrested Nizam and a Shaheeda in connection with a seizure of 1.4 kg of charas in Chandigarh. Their questioning revealed that the couple were sent to Qatar by them and their partner Tabassum and hid the drugs in their luggage. Tabassum is on the run.
On September 27 of last year, Oniba’s father, Shakeel Ahmed Qureshi, wrote to NCB requesting help in freeing the duo.
On Thursday, NCB CEO Rakesh Asthana visited the agency’s Mumbai office and assessed current cases, including the couple.
NCB has indicated that it will contact the Qatari authorities through diplomatic channels and seek the release of the couple. Oniba gave birth to her baby in March of this year.
