Mumbai court refuses to discharge arm wrestler Kyle Cummings in NDPS case

Mumbai, Aug 29 (PTI) A court here has refused to discharge arm wrestler Kyle Cummings in a drugs case, saying prima facie there was sufficient evidence against him to proceed with the trial.

Special judge for cases under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, S M Patil on Thursday dismissed Cummings' plea.

The evidence presented by the police, including bank statements detailing financial transactions, was sufficient to proceed with the trial, the court held.

Cummings, a resident of Pune, has represented India in international arm-wrestling competitions.

He was arrested in May last year along with two of his friends for ordering 281 grams of methamphetamine or MDMA tablets from Belgium through courier.

Cummings, who is out on bail, had sought discharge on the grounds that there was no direct evidence of his involvement in the crime.

No drugs or related items were seized from his possession, his lawyer argued, claiming that he was falsely implicated based on a co-accused's statement and a "dummy parcel".

The prosecution alleged that Cummings had instructed co-accused Shrawan Joshi to accept the parcel containing illegal substances.

He paid the delivery charges of Rs 528 via Google Pay and was fully aware of the parcel's contents, it said.

The parcel allegedly contained 230 grams of MDMA.

The court, after hearing both sides and reviewing the charge sheet, noted that the defence lawyer's argument that no drugs were seized from Cummings was not sufficient to grant a discharge. His involvement was prima facie evident through his actions and coordination with the other accused, the court held. PTI AVI KRK