Gujarat ATS and DRI seize heroin worth Rs. 200 cr at Kolkata port
The contraband was concealed inside 12 gear boxes which were part of 7,220 kilograms of metal scrap sent from Dubai in a shipping container, said Gujarat Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia on Friday in Gandhinagar.
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A DRI official refused to give details on whether any arrests have been made so far, stating that such details “may compromise the operation.” (Representational/File)The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) along with Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Jamnagar regional unit and Surat crime branch Friday seized 39 kg of heroin worth around Rs 200 crore at Kolkata port in a container that had arrived at the port from Dubai in February this year.
The contraband was concealed inside 12 gear boxes which were part of 7,220 kilograms of metal scrap sent from Dubai in a shipping container, said Gujarat Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia on Friday in Gandhinagar. “7,220 kilogram of metal scrap contained 36 gearboxes of which 12 gearboxes were marked with white ink. When the nut bolts were taken out and the gear boxes opened, 72 packets of heroin were found weighing 39.5 kilogram and worth Rs 197.82 crore,” DGP Bhatia said adding that the operation is still on.
“The other gearboxes have been opened and the search operation is ongoing…Right now the focus is on the seizure.. Forensic analysis has confirmed that it is heroin,” he added.
A DRI official refused to give details on whether any arrests have been made so far, stating that such details “may compromise the operation.”
Meanwhile, a press note issued by DRI on Friday, elaborating the alleged modus operandi, stated, “The gears from the old and used gearboxes were removed and the plastic packets containing the narcotic substances were placed in the created cavity and the gearboxes were then refitted to avoid detection. These packets were shipped concealing inside the metal scrap along with other metal scraps so that it would go unnoticed by the authorities. Examination and seizure proceedings by DRI under the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985 are continuing…”
“Very advanced methods are being used (to conceal the contraband). Sometimes (contraband) is mixed with rock salt, sometimes with mulethi (licorice), sometimes in scrap metal, in jute bags, textiles, PVC pipes etc,” added Bhatia.
The DGP said Gujarat ATS has been working with several other agencies such as Indian Coast Guard, Narcotics Control Bureau Delhi, DRI, Punjab Police, Delhi Police, DRI Jamnagar.
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