The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Paro District Court on 12th August 2025 has sentenced 34-year-old Faizal Jalaluden, an Indian national, to six years in prison for illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs after he was found guilty of possessing and importing 7.301 kilograms of cannabis into Bhutan.
The District Court held that the offence was proven beyond a reasonable doubt under Section 133 of the Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Substance Abuse (Amendment) Act of Bhutan 2018.
It ruled that the case met the criteria for a third-degree felony as per Section 134(1) of the Act, which applies when the quantity of cannabis exceeds twice the legal threshold set in Schedule VII. The threshold is fixed at 50 grams, making the seized quantity more than 140 times the permissible limit. The sentence will be served from the date of arrest which was on 14th April, 2025.
In its judgment, the court noted that the cannabis seized by customs officials at Paro International Airport was confirmed by the Bhutan Food and Drug Regulatory Authority as a prohibited narcotic drug with no medicinal value, as listed under Schedule I of the Act.
The court rejected Jalaluden’s claim that he was unaware of the suitcase’s contents. Rather it pointed out that a mere possession or importation of a controlled substance in excess of the prescribed limit is sufficient to establish guilt and does not require proof of intent for this offence.
Further, since the cannabis was discovered in a suitcase personally transported by the him, the element of ‘possession’ was clearly satisfied. Moreover, Section 165(23) of the Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Substance Abuse Act of Bhutan 2015 defines “import” as the physical transfer of controlled substances from one country to another. As he brought 7.301 kilograms of cannabis from Bangkok into Bhutan, the statutory definition of ‘import’ was met.
The court further highlighted that all of Jalaluden’s travel expenses were paid for by an acquaintance, Sahad Rahman, whom he claimed to have met online. This included Nu 6,000 for his initial trip from India to Bangkok, multiple hotel bookings in Bangkok, an additional allowance of 3,000 Thai Baht, another hotel booking on 12th April 2025, and his return journey from Bangkok to Bhutan, including a 400 Thai Baht allowance.
The court observed that a reasonable person would have found it suspicious especially as he had been in contact with Sahad Rahman via WhatsApp and Bitcom, but failing to question the motive behind it. Moreover, initially the offender travelled to Bangkok from India through Cochin International Airport and logically should have expected to return the same way. However, he did not question the sudden change in his itinerary, which required him to travel from Bangkok to Bhutan and then onward to India.
The judgment also stressed that the offender failed to exercise the diligence required of a reasonable person.
It stated that a reasonably prudent individual would have investigated the contents of the suitcase and questioned the motives behind such an arrangement, particularly given that all expenses were paid by a person he became acquainted with online. Therefore, finding his claim of being unaware of the cannabis being hidden in the suitcase lacking credibility.
In his statement to the police, he claimed that Rahman had invited him to Bangkok to help him overcome depression. After staying there for a week, he was instructed to collect the locked suitcase from a taxi and travel to Bhutan for two days before proceeding to Kerala, India, where someone would retrieve the parcel.
Jalaluden confessed that when he requested the lock’s password and inquired about its contents, Rahman allegedly told him the suitcase contained only clothes, edibles, and cosmetics.
This marks the first arrest of Indian national at Paro Airport for smuggling illicit substance (cannabis) into the country though the alleged intent was to take the substance to their country.
