Hyderabad airport a 'heroin transit point' with multiple seizures in 10 days?
Darpan News Desk IANS, 06 May, 2022 10:51 AM
Hyderabad, May 6 (IANS) Heroin, valued at Rs 125 crore, was seized at the Hyderabad International Airport in the last 10 days. However, the four accused, including three Tanzanian nationals, who have been caught with the contraband, had no information about the receivers.
According to central agencies, the 14 kg heroin seized in four different cases were meant to be transported to cities like Delhi and Mumbai.
The three Tanzanians and a fourth person of another nationality, were carrying the contraband from Johannesburg and Durban airports.
Hyderabad is only seen as a transit point. Since drugs were recently seized in huge quantities at Mumbai and Delhi airports, investigators believed that the gangs were looking at airports in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. However, with the recent seizures at Hyderabad airport, they may now move to other airports in the south.
Police Commissioner C.V. Anand told the media on Friday that they are coordinating with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to join the missing links in the investigations to identify the receivers.
Those arrested at the airport don't know who are the receivers. The agencies could not gather any information during their interrogation. "Somebody calls and takes the drugs from them. They have no clue or contact numbers of the receivers," Anand said.
The agencies feel that since there is demand for drugs in the country, it is being brought in huge quantity.
As per NCB figures, around 8-10 crore drugs addicts are there and their consumption of contraband has increased in last 10 years.
He called for coordination among central agencies like the NCB, DRI, ED, IB, Customs, CISF, state police and drugs department to control the international drug racket.
"We have started coordination from our side. Few days ago we spoke to DRI and NCB officials. We will call a meeting soon to join the missing links," he said.
Revealing details about the arrest of a four-member inter-state drugs gang, the Police Commissioner said that they are looking for Mahesh alias Rayees, a resident of Nalasopara in Mumbai, who is considered kingpin in the supply of heroin/brown sugar from Mumbai to the rest of his gang.
He suspects that Mahesh may be having links with international supply gangs. "Cases like these may help in joining the missing links (in international drug rackets)," he said.
The arrested include a man from Mumbai while the remaining are residents of Hyderabad. Around 225 gram heroin and 28 kg ganja valued at Rs 23.61 lakh have been recovered from them.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday gave a clarion call for the establishment of a truly federal structure in the country, with genuine cultural, political and economic autonomy to states. It also announced to implement a Rs 50,000 per acre crop insurance scheme, besides commitment to revive the pre-2004 pension scheme for government employees.
In order to provide constructed houses to the economically weaker section (EWS) across the state, the Punjab Cabinet on Tuesday approved invitation of applications for allotment of 25,000 houses to be constructed by urban development authorities. The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Charanjit Channi here.
On October 3, eight people, including four protesting farmers, had died when a SUV belonging to Ashish Mishra had mowed them down on the outskirts of Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh. One local journalist had died in the ensuing violence.
Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Amarinder Singh on Tuesday warned Punjab Police officials against intimidating his party workers at the behest of some local Congress leaders. The former Chief Minister was reacting to reports of Punjab cops stopping PLC workers, who were putting up posters in the Malwa region.
Before the account was restored, a tweet was shared with a URL on PM Modi's timeline which read, "India has officially adopted bitcoin as legal tender. The government has officially bought 500 BTC and is distributing them to all residents of the country."
Though farmers have suspended their agitation and have returned home, the BJP is still treading cautiously and opposition is leaving no chance to attack it on the issue. The farmers have returned to their homes after suspending the 15-month-long agitation, post the government repealing the three farm laws and agreeing to certain demands.
