In a shocking incident, the Customs officials of Chennai airport arrested an engineering dropout of the town for allegedly peddling drugs from the Netherlands.
Investigation officials raided his house and seized some packets which were booked online from Harleem City, through a parcel service.
“About 400 Methylenedioxy-Methamphetamine (MDMA) pills (weighing 470 grams), which were banned, worth more than ₹12 lakh, were recovered from the accused. The accused reportedly booked the consignment on the pretext of toys on fake addresses,” an officer said.
The 28-year-old man booked the consignment through ‘Bitcoin’, a Crypto currency. He was produced in a court in Chennai and was remanded to judicial custody.
The Customs officials, who kept a vigil on the drug peddler, are trying to find out how long he was running the racket, whether the accused was having a gang and his customers.
“A dosage of the ecstasy pill (MDMA) above 120 gms could be fatal. The accused booked the drug through a banned site and was smuggling the pills. We are investigating how he came into contact with the suppliers and other peddlers and other details,” an investigation officer told The Hindu on Friday.
Thorough probe
The police, who swung into action post customs officials raids, suspect that the drug racket has links to Narsapuram, Veeravasaram, Razole, Akiveedu and the neighbouring districts in Andhra Pradesh.
Director-General of Police (DGP) D. Gauam Sawang said the police were investigating deep into the international drug racket and book the accused.
“There are rumours that some influential persons are behind the drug racket. The government is very serious on drug smuggling and the police will take stern action against the peddlers,” Mr. Sawang said.
“We are cooperating with the Customs and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials of Chennai airport, who are investigating the case,” said West Godavari district Superintendent of Police (SP) K. Narayan Naik.