Francis Gegg Appears in Indian Court; He’s Denied Bail for Drug Trafficking

Seventy-one-year-old Francis Gegg, brother of developer David Gegg, has been languishing in prison since his arrest on October 30, 2022, at Delhi airport. He was caught with nearly ten kilograms of heroin while traveling from Johannesburg to India via Doha. Customs officers intercepted him and discovered the alleged contraband during a baggage search. Earlier today, the Belizean national appeared before the Delhi High Court, seeking bail. Gegg argued that the conditions outlined in Section 50 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, which require informing a person of their right to be searched by the nearest gazetted officer, were not met. However, the court found this argument unconvincing due to the nature of the search. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, relying on established judicial precedents, noted, “Section 50 is not applicable in this case as the search was of the applicant’s baggage and not his person, and that too in a public place. Moreover, the applicant was served with a notice under Section 50 of the Act. The issue was merely the absence of the word ‘nearest’ in the notice, which cannot be addressed at the bail stage as it is a matter for trial.” The court also highlighted that Section 37 of the NDPS Act, which imposes strict conditions for granting bail, was applicable since the quantity of contraband recovered was of a commercial scale. Consequently, the court concluded that there were no reasonable grounds to believe that Gegg was not prima facie guilty of the alleged offense under the NDPS Act.