Ness Wadia, scion of the multi-million dollar Wadia group and co-owner of the Kings X1 Punjab cricket team is in big trouble. The industrialist, who used to date Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, with whom he had a huge fallout, was sentenced to a two-year jail term in Japan over the possession of drugs during a holiday there. According to a report in Financial Times, Ness was arrested in early March at the New Chitose Airport in an area called Hokkaido in Northern Japan. Japan has very strict anti-drug laws and before the 2020 Olympics, scheduled to be held in Tokyo, these are applied very stringently. Ness was reportedly detained in custody before being sentenced to two years by the Sapporo District Court. The sentence has been suspended for five years and he has returned to India.
The incident occurred after customs officials apparently found 25 g of cannabis resin in his trouser pockets. According to the Financial Times report, sniffer dogs had alerted customs officials at Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport and the officials then searched him. The report further adds that Ness confessed to his crime but claimed that the drugs found in his possession, were for personal use. He even spent a period in detention before he was found guilty on March 20 by a court. After the hearing, he was handed a two year prison sentence. Japan’s narcotics laws are already quite strict and ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, these laws are being applied tightly.
Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia
Ness Wadia, who owns the Kings X1 team in the Indian Premiere League (IPL) along with former girlfriend Preity Zinta, has been missing in action on the ground this time. He was in the news a few years ago after his bitter spat and break-up with Preity who even accused him of molestation. The two was advised by the judge hearing the matter, to resolve the impasse within their personal capacities.
