Mumbai couple returns home from Qatar after getting entangled in a drugs case

It was an emotional homecoming for the Mumbai-based couple, Mohammad Shareeq and Oniba Qureshi, who were held in a drugs case in Qatar around two years ago.

For the parents of Oniba and Shareeq, it was a moment of joy as they also welcomed Aayat, their grand-daughter, who was born in jail in a foreign land.

“I cannot forget these two years,” said Shareeq. "We were trapped and entangled in a case with which we had no connection even remotely," he said.

“Life was difficult…I was expecting….emotionally we had broken down,” said Oniba, however, adding that the jail authorities took care of her well during the pregnancy.

The couple was arrested at the Hamad International Airport in Doha, in July, 2019 after Qatar authorities recovered 4.1 kg of hashish in their bag.

It later came to light that Sharique's aunt, Tabassum Qureshi, had used them to transport the drugs – on the pretext of sending the couple to the Persian Gulf country for a second honeymoon. They asked them to get a bag delivered to a contact in Qatar saying that it had gutka and zarda in it as these items are costly in the Arabian nation.

“We were initially reluctant for a second honeymoon but accepted it later…and we never realized that we would be in mess,” the couple said.

Shareeq and Oniba faced the in Qatar - and the Supreme Judiciary Council of Qatar had sentenced both of them to serve 10 years in jail and a fine of 3,00,000 Riyal individually.

The couple’s family back in Mumbai made all efforts to approach the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to look into the matter after which the federal agency busted the module involved in the said drug trafficking case and raised the issue with Qatar authorities through diplomatic channels.

In December, 2019, Nagpada police seized 13 grams of cocaine from Nizam Kara and Tabassum and arrested them. Simultaneously, in February, 2020, an NCB team intercepted a consignment of the 1.474 kilograms of charas belonging to the same syndicate in Chandigarh and arrested four persons - Ved Ram, Maheshwar, Shahnawaz Gulam Choratwala and Shabana.

These details were presented before the prosecution agencies and judiciary in Qatar and the evidence sent there was appreciated by court, which ordered their release.

“We hoisted India’s flag in Qatar by getting the innocent couple to meet justice. I am indebted to the support provided by Mumbai media. This was one of the most satisfying investigations of my career and I owe a lot to your support,” NCP’s deputy director of operations, KPS Malhotra said.