Kutch: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has seized 75.3kg of high-quality heroin, valued at Rs 376.5 crore in the international market, from a container at Mundra port in Kutch district. The contraband, hidden inside fabric rolls to evade detection, had been sent from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was meant to be transported to Punjab, Gujarat DGP Ashish Bhatia informed.Also Read - Video: Brave Security Guard Fights Off Robbers in Punjab's Moga | WATCH
The Punjab Police recently gave a tip-off to the Gujarat ATS that a shipping container, which arrived at the Mundra port about two-and-a-half months ago might be containing drugs and the cargo was meant to be delivered in Punjab. Also Read - 75kgs Heroin Seized At Gujarat's Mudra Port, Links With Punjab Suspected
After getting the basic information, a Gujarat ATS team along with a Punjab Police sub-inspector reached Mundra and located the suspected container kept at a container freight station near the port. Also Read - Bhagwant Mann Marries Gurpreet Kaur: Kejriwal, Raghav Chadda Perform Rituals For Father And Brother | PHOTOS
The consignment had arrived at the Mundra port on May 13 from Ajman Free Zone in the UAE.
During a close inspection of 540 fabric rolls kept in the container, the heroin powder was found inside 64 of them.
“A cloth was wrapped on long cylindrical pipes made of cardboard. Drug dealers had created a cavity by putting a plastic pipe of a larger diameter on the cardboard pipe. Heroin was filled in the cavity and then sealed tightly using carbon tapes so that it goes undetected in X-ray check,” the official said.
Heroin Worth 376 Crores, Hidden In Fabric Rolls, Seized Near Mundra Port in Gujarat
The container was sent by one Green Forest General Trading in the UAE and it was received by Jovial Container Lines, a West Bengal-based delivery agent having its office at Gandhidham in Kutch.
Asked why no action was taken against the Mundra port authorities, Gujarat DGP Ashish Bhatia said it was wrong to pinpoint only one port.
“Drug peddlers will use whatever channel they find suitable to send drugs to India. Not just Mundra, we had seized drugs from other Gujarat ports like Kandla and Pipavav in the recent past. Drugs had also been seized from the Nhava Sheva port in Maharashtra, in Chennai and in West Bengal too,” he said.
Heroin Worth 376 Crores, Hidden In Fabric Rolls, Seized Near Mundra Port in Gujarat
The official said most of the drugs sent to the Gujarat ports had been seized due to alertness of the state police and other agencies. Various state and central agencies, including the ATS and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), have in the recent past seized drugs worth crores of rupees from shipping containers arriving at Gujarat ports from other countries.
The DRI in September last year seized nearly 3,000 kg of heroin, believed to have originated in Afghanistan and worth about Rs 21,000 crore in global markets, from two containers at the Mundra port. In May, the DRI seized 56 kg cocaine, estimated to be worth around Rs 500 crore, from a container near the Mundra port.
In April, the DRI seized 205.6 kg heroin worth Rs 1,439 crore from a container near the Kandla port in Kutch. Around the same period, the Gujarat ATS and DRI in a joint operation recovered nearly 90 kg heroin worth Rs 450 crore from a shipping container that arrived from Iran at the Pipavav port in Amreli district.
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Published Date: July 13, 2022 6:48 AM IST
Updated Date: July 13, 2022 6:55 AM IST
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