Wrestler Cummings' discharge plea rejected in Mumbai drugs case

Judicial Crackdown

Posted by AI on 2025-08-30 06:18:18 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-08-30 12:46:00

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A special court has rejected the discharge plea of Kyle Cummings, a 23-year-old wrestler, in a case involving narcotics smuggling. Cummings, who was representing the country in international arm wrestling competitions, was arrested alongside two others for ordering 281 grams of methamphetamine, or MDMA tablets, from Belgium through a courier. The judge ruled that although no drugs were seized directly from Cummings, strong suspicious circumstances and evidence from financial transactions and co-accused statements proved his involvement. The decision was also based on legal precedents that only require suspicion or sufficient grounds to presume an accused committed an offence. This decision paves the way for the trial to commence.

In May of last year, Cummings and his two friends, Shrawan Joshi and Aryan Haldankar, were arrested. All three were booked under the Narcotic Drugs Psychotropic Substance Act. After specific intelligence was provided, officials intercepted a parcel at the foreign post office. The parcel was found to contain 230 grams of MDMA. After paying the customs duty, Joshi was arrested, and he contacted the other two accused, leading to their arrests as well. Officials then laid a trap, and the three were arrested together.

The prosecution argued that Cummings paid the delivery charges of Rs 528 via Google Pay and was caught red-handed when he and his co-accused met to collect the parcel. The defence argued that Cummings was falsely implicated based on a dummy parcel and a statement from a co-accused. They contend that he had no direct involvement in the offence and that no narcotics were seized from him personally. However, the court rejected these claims, observing strong suspicious circumstances and stating that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Cummings.

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