Hyderabad: Two parcels containing 14.2 kilograms of the pseudoephedrine drug were seized by city police and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) of an international courier agency in Begumpet. The banned substance was hidden in photo frames that were allegedly transported to Australia in cardboard boxes.
According to Anjanai Kumar, Hyderabad Police Commissioner, the drugs were seized after officials received specific information that certain illicit drugs were hidden in packages destined for Australia at an international courier agency called United Express.
Upon closer inspection, the cops found parcel boxes containing photo frames and other products. However, the consignment also had a plastic casing containing white powdery substance that was sandwiched between the 2 layers of the photo frames. “This substance has tested positive for Pseudoephedrine, a controlled substance under the 1985 NDPS Act,” a Hyderabad police statement said.
After the bust, a total of 22 such photo frames were found in those 2 packages, with each package containing 11 photo frames, police said. The total amount of 14.2 kg of pseudoephedrine was extracted from these photo frames and preliminary investigations revealed that the shipments were allegedly booked with fraudulent Aadhar cards with Hyderabad address by two persons, possibly from Tamil Nadu.
The black market value of the drug is approximately Rs 40 lakh and the total value of this particular seizure is approximately Rs 5.5 crore. “This is a continuation of a series of more than 15 cases involving more than 300 kg of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine consignments destined for Australia by courier, air and sea freight, which have been tracked down by DRI Hyderabad at various locations over the past year. is, including Chennai, Delhi and Bengaluru, ”the statement added.
Source: The Siasat Daily