Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seizes heroin worth Rs 21,000 crore at Mundra Port.
Mundra Port is private port totally controlled by the Adani Group by Gujarat business man Adani who eventually a staunch supporter of BJP union government led by Prime Minister Modi .
The containers , which were loaded with nearly 3,000 kg of heroin, were shipped from the Bandar Abbas Port in Iran.
Five people, including a couple in Chennai, arrested. The others were held in Mumbai. The containers were reportedly imported by a Vijayawada-based entity.
The (DRI), acting on an intelligence input, has seized nearly 3,000 kg of heroin that was originated from Afghanistan at the Mundra Port, located in coastal Gujarat’s Kutch district.
DRI sources confirmed that the two consignments of heroin, a banned narcotic substance, were seized on September 15.
An initial investigation estimated its street value at Rs 3,500 crore. Six days later, it was found to be worth around Rs 21,000 crore, they said.
The containers loaded with Afghan heroin were shipped from Bandar Abbas Port in Iran, and were reportedly imported by a Vijayawada-based entity Aashi Trading Company, the agency said in a statement.
One of the seized containers was loaded with 1,999.58 kg of heroin, and another contained 988.64 kg, it added.
The substance recovered from the containers was examined in the presence of experts from Forensics Science Lab, Gandhinagar. In the tests conducted by FSL, the presence of heroin was confirmed.
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The DRI has arrested a Chennai-based couple Govindaraju Durgapurn Vaishali and her husband Machhavaram Sudhakar who had allegedly imported these containers through Aashi Trading Company, claiming that “they were importing talcum powder,”
They were arrested under provisions of the stringent Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act, 1985. The accused have been sent to a 10-day judicial custody by a court in Gujarat’s Bhuj.
Searches were also conducted in Ahmedabad, Gandhidham and Mandvi in Gujarat, and also in Delhi and Chennai.
DRI sources told the news channel that three more accused have been arrested — in Mumbai. Out of them, two are said to be Afghan nationals.
However, they were yet to release the names of those nabbed. Sources added that the heroin was first shipped to Bandar Abbas Port by Hasan Hussain Ltd, an entity based in Afghanistan’s Kandahar.
Afghanistan is one of the biggest exporters of narcotic drugs, and, as per estimates, it accounts for nearly 85 percent of global heroin supplies, according to report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Following the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, it was feared that the illicit drug trade may expand, and the country may emerge as the world’s biggest narco-state.
With Aashi’s GST registration showing a Vijayawada address, the Vijayawada police released a statement Tuesday, saying, “So far, no activity, except using the Vijayawada house address for obtaining licences (by the wife for import and export), has come to notice. However, further enquiries are being conducted.”
The Enforcement Directorate is likely to register a case of money laundering in connection with the drug haul. “Narco smuggling is one of the biggest modes of generating black money and laundering across the world. We will soon register a money laundering case in the matter,” an ED official said.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), which controls the Mundra Port, said in a statement “ The company also marked its objection over a “malicious social media campaign” targeting Adani Group following the drug seizure at Mundra Port.
“We sincerely hope that this statement will put to rest the motivated, malicious and false propaganda being run on social media against the Adani Group. APSEZ is a port operator providing services to shipping lines. We have no policing authority over the containers or the millions of tonnes of cargo that pass through the terminals in Mundra or any of our ports,”
However it was one of the single biggest hauls of heroin in the country amounting to nearly 3,000 kg, worth Rs 21,000 crore that arises the suspicion for many .. Many in social media says with out happening of regular trade such a big catch is nearly impossible
Special Public Prosecutor Kalpesh Goswami said that so far there were only two arrests. “Physical verification of the containers showed there were three layers made in each of the bags kept in the containers, where the drug consignment was mixed in layers of talc stones stacked upon each other. We are trying to probe the drug nexus from the two accused.”
