Godhra: Local Municipality member Mohammad Hanif Saeed Qalandar and three members of a Godhra family were arrested with a huge quantity of banned drugs at Jeddah Airport in Saudi Arabia six months ago. In this case, Qalandar has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined one lakh riyals (approximately ₹23 lakh) by the Saudi Sharia Law Court.

Mohammad Hanif Saeed Qalandar contested the Godhra Municipality election from Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) and won with the highest number of votes. In July 2024, he was detained by airport authorities at Jeddah Airport with a large quantity of banned drugs. At the same time, three other individuals, including a couple and a woman from the Hayat family of Godhra, were also detained with a quantity of banned drugs and handed over to the Saudi Arabian authorities.

The four accused from Godhra, who were imprisoned in Dhahban Central Prison in Jeddah on charges of smuggling banned drugs, faced trial in the highest Sharia court in Saudi Arabia. At the end of the hearing, Qalandar was sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined one lakh riyals, while the three members of the Godhra family were acquitted. DeshGujarat