The appellant/accused preferred this appeal against the conviction and sentence passed by the Principal Sessions Judge, City Civil Court, Madras in Sessions Case No. 135 of 1987 on 2. 1988.

2. The brief facts of the Prosecution are as follows: On 18. 1987 the accused had a plastic bag in his hand going along Nethaji Subash Chandrabose Road, Madras City. P.W.1 George was the Preventive Officer in the Madras Customs Department. He found the appellant/accused in front of ‘Ninan’s Restaur rant’ in Nethaji Subash Chandrabose Road, Madras, at about 11 a.m. on 18. 1987. P.W.1, George suspected the appellant/ accused and then he took him to the Customs House for interrogation. At the Customs House, he searched the bag of the accused in the presence of P.W.3 Varadhan, Superintendent of Customs at Madras and P.W.4 Krishnadass. Consequent to this search of the bag of the accused, P.W.1 George found inside a polythene bag marked as M.O.1, and the polythene bag contained brown colour powder which was brown sugar and which is a narcotic substance. Thereupon the same was seized by P.W.1 George under the mahazar dated 18. 1987 marked as Ex.P-1, which was written by another Preventive Of