News Desk |
Rana Sanaullah, President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) admitted to being involved in narcotics smuggling for multiple years in a statement recorded before the investigation officer. The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) claims to have recorded this statement in the challan it submitted before the court.
According to the ANF challan, Sanaullah admitted to being involved in drugs smuggling for years in order to supplement his income and increase his social status. The statement by Rana Sanaullah notes, “I have been involved in narcotics smuggling for years. After I entered politics, my expenses started to increase alarmingly but my income remained meager. I created associations with drug smugglers as my political career evolved, especially after assuming the position of Law Minister in the Punjab Cabinet.”
The ANF team reached the Ravi T. Plaza Lahore at 1pm, and Rana Sanaullah, accompanied by a contingent of personal guards, arrived at the Plaza in two vehicles around 3.29pm.
Rana Sanaullah added, “I realized that many politicians I knew had amassed billions and the senior leaders of all political parties had created illegal assets and properties. Being a middle-class man, greed got the better of me. I was well-suited to run a business of aiding criminals and smuggling drugs.”
The four-page ANF challan further notes Rana Sanaullah’s confession, “So, I began facilitating and aiding drug dealers, and eventually begin transporting drugs using my personal vehicles. It provided an easy strategy to evade the police and law enforcement personnel, since being an influence politician; no one would dare to examine my vehicle. “
Read more: 15kg Heroin was planted in Rana Sanaullah’s car: PML-N
The statement further added, “I obtained drugs from Afghans living in Faisalabad, and then the drugs I received were distributed amongst other drugs dealers for smuggling the shipments abroad to multiple countries.”
Rana Sanaullah admits involvement in drug smuggling though Afghan nationals https://t.co/WOC6lZdeDw pic.twitter.com/JrCCcuHlMZ
— Times of lsIamabad (@TimesofIslambad) July 24, 2019
Despite the confession statement of Rana Sanaullah, his wife, Nabeela Sanaullah, stubbornly denies all charges and confessions made by her husband, accusing the ANF of creating a fabricated story to malign her husband. She added that the ANF was also attempting to film a fake video of Rana Sanaullah transporting drugs.
The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) claims to have recorded this statement in the challan it submitted before the court.
Nabeela Sanaullah maintains, “It is an entirely fake story, and my husband is innocent.” Other leaders of opposition parties are also accusing the government of carrying out a political victimization campaign against Rana Sanaullah.
Read more: Fake video of Rana Sanaullah ‘duplicate’ being produced to trap him: Wife
Details of Sanaullah’s Arrest
The challan submitted by the ANF further claims that on 1st July, the ANF received a source stating that Rana Sanaullah will be transporting a huge shipment of narcotics on his vehicle V-8 No BF-0601 Sindh, on his way to Lahore. A raiding team was prepared, consisting of Assistant Director Imtiaz Cheema, Inspectors Nauman Ghaus, Mohammad Aslam, and Ahsan Azam, including other sub-inspectors, head constables, constables and other personnel.
The ANF team reached the Ravi T. Plaza Lahore at 1pm, and Rana Sanaullah, accompanied by a contingent of personal guards, arrived at the Plaza in two vehicles around 3.29pm. There were three individuals in each vehicle, and as the ANF team attempted to retrieve the bag carrying heroin and a pistol from Rana Sanaullah, his personal guards began attacking the ANF personnel.
The ANF team reached the Ravi T. Plaza Lahore at 1pm, and Rana Sanaullah, accompanied by a contingent of personal guards, arrived at the Plaza in two vehicles around 3.29pm.
The ANF officials further added that they have seized 15 kilograms of heroin from Sanaullah’s vehicle, alongside detaining his guard for attacking the ANF team. The challan further claimed that Sanaullah’s private guards kept trying to snatch him from ANF custody, and make an attempt to escape but the ANF constables quickly took control over the situation.
Read more: Will PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah eat jail food?
The ANF has also submitted CCTV footages, CDs, SECP letter, FIA travel history, reports of the NIH, details of assets, statements by witnesses and other required documents alongside the challan. The criminal records of Sanaullah and his guards have also been submitted in the court, and nine cases have been filed against the four front men that were involved in this matter.
The investigation carried out against Sanaullah is headed by a Brigadier-rank officer and a special five-member investigation team, and in the last eight days, the ANF has questioned and arrested half a dozen accused in the case.
The investigation team will continue to question around a dozen people involved in the sensational drug smuggling case over the next two weeks, since the magistrate has extended the judicial remand of Rana Sanaullah. The hearing of the case will now resume on 30th July.