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.
Security guards in all the banks in J&K are provided with point 12 bore shotguns and not rifles. While bullets are used in rifles, the ammunition of a shotgun is made of cartridges.
The haul is valued at nearly Rs 8 lakh. The smuggler Abdul Baki Malitha (40) and the silver pellets have been handed over to the Customs department at Jalangi, Murshidabad, for further processing.
The sources also said that they have identified around 22 mobile numbers of PFI student wing members who were present in the area before the violence erupted. They said that the probe agencies have been trying to ascertain their activities and they may be questioned by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police.
The packet had come through the cargo to Sirajudeen on April 17, and on Monday a person named Naukul had come to take it. The officials used a gas cutter to open the meat slicer and recovered 2.26 kg of gold stacked inside the machine.
Terming the development as a black day in the history of Punjab, Badal said never before in the history of the state had outsiders been given control of the state and its future generations in this manner.
Sidhu has been left out in the cold ever since the party lost the elections in Punjab earlier this year. He was asked to resign after the party appointed Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as the new President of Punjab Congress. Since then the Congress has set up a new team in Punjab, reportedly annoying the former state Congress chief.
