New Delhi, Nov 2 (PTI) A Delhi court has granted bail to a man accused of being part of an international drug syndicate, saying that merely because the accused persons were African nationals, it could not be presumed that they had conspired to possess narcotics recovered from eight independent flats in a building.
Special Judge (NDPS) Dheeraj Mor granted regular bail to Gassama Thomas, who was arrested in October 2025 in connection with the recovery of various narcotic substances, including cocaine, amphetamine, heroin and MDMA, from a building in southwest Delhi's Nawada.
In an order dated October 31, the court said, "The prosecution has failed to disclose any relation of the applicant with the other co-accused persons except that all of them are African nationals. That, itself, is not a sufficient ground to presume that he conspired with the other co-accused persons to possess the entire narcotics substance seized from the 08 independent flats in the said premises."
The court noted that 60 grams of cocaine, an intermediate quantity, was allegedly recovered from the rented flat occupied by Thomas along with three other persons.
It said that the alleged contraband was not recovered from his personal search and no conclusive inference could be drawn that it was kept in the flat with his knowledge, particularly when he was not its sole tenant or occupant.
"It is not established that the source of the contraband recovered from the applicant herein and the source of the other contraband recovered during the search of the other 07 flats in the said premises is common or has a connecting link," the judge said.
It further noted that no call detail records, chats or money trail had been recovered from his mobile phone to establish his connection with the alleged syndicate or other accused persons.
It held that in the absence of prima facie evidence of criminal conspiracy, the commercial quantity of contraband recovered from the other flats could not be attributed to him. Consequently, the stringent bail conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act were not applicable.
The court also took note of the fact that Thomas had been in custody since October 23, 2025, the complaint had already been filed and the trial was likely to take considerable time. Two co-accused persons facing similar allegations had also been granted bail.
Thomas was directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with one surety of the like amount. He has also been directed not to leave India without prior court permission and to deposit his passport.
According to the prosecution, the case originated from the interception of a courier parcel from Belgium in September 2022, which allegedly contained 2,150 grams of MDMA. Subsequent investigation led the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to a suspected drug manufacturing and distribution network.
During a raid on a four-storey building comprising 16 flats in Nawada in October 2025, the DRI allegedly recovered a total of 20,051 grams of narcotic substances from eight flats. Thomas was allegedly one of the delivery boys of the main accused, who was running the drug syndicate.
The court clarified that its observations were limited to the consideration of the bail application and would not affect the merits of the case.
