Greater Noida drugs smuggling: Meth stitched into garments, sent to Kolkata, Mumbai ports

NOIDA: High-quality meth manufactured in two Greater Noida houses was stitched into garments and sent to ports in Mumbai and Kolkata, from where it was shipped abroad, police said on Wednesday, after two raids in the last fortnight unearthed an eye-popping amount of the substance - 75kg worth around Rs 350 crore - and a well-oiled narco operation that was both cooking and distributing it.
Police sources said they are still investigating trails of the consignments, which could have made it to more ports on the east and west coasts.

The raids at houses in residential neighbourhoods rented by the gang - the first at Theta-2 on May 17 and the next at Mitra Enclave in Beta-2 on May 30 - led to the arrests of 13 suspects, most of them from Nigeria and one from Senegal.
Meth dispatched in small batches via pvt cars, bike taxi riders: Cops
The drug raids at Greater Noida houses in residential neighbourhoods rented by the gang - the first at Theta-2 on May 17 and the next at Mitra Enclave in Beta-2 on May 30 - led to the arrests of 13 suspects. Among those held was Chidi Ijiagwa, believed to be the operations head. After cooking meth in labs set up inside the houses, the gang would send batches of the drug to Delhi, either in private cars or through bike taxi riders, police sources told TOI.

Investigators are looking into the role of an international courier service provider's personnel for helping the gang transport the garments lined with meth to the coastal cities. "Once the package reached Delhi, the drugs would be hidden in bundles of clothes to send to the ports in Mumbai and Kolkata. From there, it would be shipped out to countries in Europe, Africa and Asia," Noida police commissioner Laxmi Singh said on Wednesday. Greater Noida DCP Saad Miya Khan, whose team led the raids, said the trade was facilitated by a "large nexus".
"The gang may have paid a huge amount to get the consignments shipped from the ports. The involvement of some officials at ports has also come to light. All the dots are being joined," he said. Meth, a stimulant and hallucinogenic, was sold directly within Delhi-NCR by this gang as well.

"The gang would get in touch with consumers on encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram and Viber, and directly give the drugs. We are informing Delhi Police about the same, and the possible involvement of foreigners living in the capital as well," the DCP said.
Khan said ephedrine, a stimulant banned in India that is a key ingredient in the production of meth, was supplied to the gang by a Sonipat-based chemicals manufacturing factory whose owner is absconding. "We are looking at the role of pharmacies that may have supplied other raw materials to cook meth. Apart from that, all the financial transactions related to the suspects and possible links with supply lines are being checked," Khan said.
Police said they have evidence to believe that the earnings from this illegal trade were being routed through two shell companies - one that claimed to be an agricultural fertiliser exports firm and the other for exporting clothes.