20 kg of heroin worth Rs 80 crore, hidden in cavity under truck, seized in Delhi

The Delhi Police special cell have seized 20 kilograms of heroin worth Rs 80 crore from two alleged members of an interstate syndicate who were arrested from north Delhi’s Bhalswa area on Monday.

This is the second biggest seizure of heroin by Delhi police this year. Around 30 kilograms of heroin worth at least Rs 125 crore was seized from five men in April.

The drug was smuggled to Delhi from West Bengal’s Malda via Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in a truck with a special cavity created underneath its body, police said.

The cavity was designed like a tool box and was fitted in the lower portion of the truck to avoid detection.

Deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said the drug cartel runs its network in Bareilly, Malda, Delhi-NCR and in northeastern states such as Manipur. The syndicate’s kingpin, identified by his single name Refaquat, is based in Bareilly and has been running the illegal trade for many years.

“The cartel procured heroin from Myanmar. The contraband is trafficked to Manipur from where it is transported to Malda, the transit point managed by Najeaul Haq. The traffickers then supply the drug to various drug dealers in Delhi-NCR,” DCP Yadav said.

Police identified the arrested men as Irfan Hussain,36, from Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly and Mohammad Shahid,30, from Rampur in the same state. Hussain and Shahid were working as the driver and helper of a goods truck. They used the vehicle to smuggle drugs, police said.

DCP Yadav said police were working on the drug cartel for the past four months. The duo was caught when they reached Golf Course at Bhalswa with the consignment of heroin that was to be delivered to one Rehmat.

“Shahid was carrying a backpack from which 10 kilograms of heroin in two packets were found. Their Interrogation helped us discover the cavity in the truck from where another 10 kilograms of the contraband was found,” he said.

Further interrogation of the duo revealed they were working for Refaquat for the past one year and had already delivered two consignments of heroin to his contacts in Delhi-NCR during that period. Refaquat used to hand over a locked bag containing money to the two men. The bag was kept in another cavity created in the truck’s cabin, said a police officer, associated with the operation.

“The locked bag along with the key was handed over to Haque in Malda and he would fill the bag with heroin, lock it and give it back to the carriers with instructions to hand it over to Refaquat,” the officer said, adding they are also probing if the hawala network was being used for payment.

Police said they are making efforts to arrest Refaquat, Haque and other members of the drug cartel.

First Published: Oct 05, 2018 13:29 IST