Daijiworld Media Network - Sharjah
Sharjah, Nov 19: A Sharjah court has dismissed the appeal filed by 37-year-old Mumbai-based DJ Clatyon Rodrigues, who is currently imprisoned in Sharjah facing a 25-year jail term in connection with an alleged framed drugs case, according to an official statement.
Rodrigues is said to be the second victim of Anthony Paul, the accused behind the framing, who orchestrated a drugs case resulting in Rodrigues' arrest by Sharjah airport authorities. The first victim, actor Chrisann Pereira, managed to return to her home country in August.
A senior officer from the Mumbai Police stated, "The High Court there rejected the appeal against his conviction by the lower court. Now, an appeal must be made before the Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi."
Despite the rejection of the appeal, the officer expressed hope that the Supreme Court would consider the possibility that Rodrigues had been framed.
Anthony Paul, a baker based in Mira Road, along with accomplice Rajesh Borate, was arrested in April by the Mumbai Police crime branch. Investigations revealed that Paul sought revenge on five individuals by sending them to Sharjah with items containing drugs. While three others escaped, Rodrigues and Pereira were apprehended with drugs.
In Rodrigues' case, the motive was a comment he made during a joint family trip to a farmhouse in 2022, which angered Paul. Following Paul's instructions, Borate posed as an event manager in January and offered Rodrigues a job at an event in Sharjah. Just before Rodrigues flew to Sharjah on February 6, Borate gave him a cake containing hidden drugs.
Mumbai Police's crime branch investigation indicated that Paul then tipped off Sharjah airport authorities about Rodrigues carrying drugs in the cake. Subsequently, Rodrigues was arrested by Sharjah airport police and has been incarcerated since.
The chargesheet filed by the Mumbai Police crime branch in the Chrisann Pereira case implicated Paul in framing Rodrigues as well. This chargesheet was translated into Arabic and utilized in the UAE during the appeal stage.
Notably, there is a precedent for hope, as another Mumbai-based couple, Mohammad Shaheed and Oniba Qureshi, who were unwittingly used as drug mules and arrested by Qatari authorities in 2019, faced conviction. However, after it was revealed that they were unaware of narcotics in a bag they were asked to carry by Shaheed's aunt, they were acquitted of all charges and released in 2021.