Delhi: Three foreigners in net with 14kg heroin

NEW DELHI: Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) made a huge seizure of over 14 kilograms of heroin worth more than Rs 60 crore and arrested three foreigners who had allegedly smuggled the contraband into the country.

The operation led the agency to unearth a new route through which heroin was being sent to Mozambique and South Africa from Afghanistan and then routed to India and other Asian countries. The trail of investigation showed smuggling of more than 100kg of heroin worth Rs 400 crore with similar modus operandi.
Rajesh Nandan Srivastava, deputy director general (operations), said that two women from Mozambique were arrested along with the receiver, a native of Ivory Coast based in Greater Noida. “The probe is at an initial stage. Efforts are being made to identify other members of this cartel,” he added.
NCB sleuths had received an input about drug cartels exploring new routes to push heroin into the country and zeroed in on the Mozambique route. A few days ago, a trap was laid at IGI airport and two flights from Johannesburg in South Africa were scrutinised.
“The two women from Mozambique were intercepted and after a search of their luggage 3.92kg and 5.65kg of heroin, respectively, was seized. The contraband was concealed in the lining of the trolley bags,” zonal director KPS Malhotra said. They were arrested under different sections of NDPS Act.
The officials came to know that the receiver of the contraband was based in Sector 106, Greater Noida. A raid was conducted and the Ivory Coast national was arrested with 4.97kg heroin. The search also led to seizure of 20 empty bags whose linings were cut open. The accused man revealed that they were from earlier consignments and each bag held around 5kg of the drug.
It was also found that one of the women from Mozambique had visited India in December 2019. “Their interrogation revealed that both had received the trolley bags at Maputo in Mozambique. They took a bus for Johannesburg from where they boarded a flight to India,” Malhotra said.
The agency is now trying to trace the network of this cartel in Afghanistan and Mozambique. They have contacted their counterparts in these countries requesting for additions to the information obtained from the arrested smugglers.