Mumbai: The 20 kilograms of ephedrine seized last week were brought from Hyderabad to Mumbai in a luxury bus operated by a major private bus operator in the State, investigations have revealed. The police are inquiring to ascertain whether there was any involvement of the agency staff in the smuggling of the drugs for New Year’s Eve parties.
The drugs were seized in a trap laid by the Amboli police in the early hours of December 30. The team, which was led by police inspector Daya Nayak, arrested two accused who have a history of drug smuggling dating back to 2013.
According to police sources, the duo have said in their interrogation that they had picked up the consignment from Hyderabad and brought it to Mumbai by a luxury bus.
“The accused have said they placed the drugs in duffel bags and travelled to Mumbai by road. At no point were the drugs detected as there was no search of their baggage. The bus is operated by a very well-known tours and travel agency in Maharashtra. We are trying to find out if the staff on board the bus were hand in glove with the accused,” an officer who is part of the investigation said.
The officer said the accused are suspected to have procured the drugs from the same source from whom they had bought the 200 kg of ephedrine with which they were caught in 2013. A police team is trying to identify the source.
“The sheer amount of the drugs seized from the accused indicates that they have a source with access to large quantities. Typically, ephedrine is manufactured illegally in pharmaceutical factories and then sold. The accused would take orders from parties in various cities and then pick up the consignment. We are expecting more arrests,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, the revelation has thrown the spotlight on the negligible or no checking of baggage by private tour bus operators.
Police officers said while checking is essential given the massive number of people who travel by private buses daily, there is no law that makes checking mandatory. Hence, it is entirely up to the operators.
Harsh Kotak, general secretary, Bus Truck Vahatuk Mahasangh, said with the existing infrastructure, checking the baggage of every passenger is not possible.
“We have for long been demanding bus ports, on the lines of airports or sea ports, where we can have security checks of passengers’ baggage and only allow those whose baggage has been screened. Currently, passengers board buses at various points and that too on the roads. We have made this same demand to all authorities a number of times, but to no avail,” Mr. Kotak said.