10 August,2024 03:28 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
NCB officers with the seized drugs at Mumbai Waste Management Ltd, Taloja, Maharashtra. The drugs were disposed of on Thursday and Friday through incineration. Pic/NCB
The Mumbai Zonal Unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has disposed of about 5,500 kg of illicit drugs seized in various cases wherein numerous offenders, including several foreign nationals, were arrested.
A High-Level Drug Disposal Committee (HLDDC) was constituted by the guidelines prescribed by the Supreme Court which comprised Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Maneesh Kumar, Deputy Director General (DG) of NCB Amit Ghawate, and Additional Commissioner of Police (Anti-Narcotics Cell-Mumbai) Rajendra Shirtode.
This committee reviewed the cases and only the fit cases were selected for the pre-trial disposal.
Accordingly, all the legal terms were complied with, after which the seized drugs were disposed of through incineration on Thursday and Friday at Mumbai Waste Management Ltd, Taloja, Maharashtra.
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Among the drugs destroyed by NCB, about 10 kg consisted of cocaine. The drug was primarily sourced from Latin America and illegally trafficked into India through concealment by mules who travelled to the country via multiple layovers at various halts to evade detection.
Besides this, more than 52,130 bottles containing about 5,479 kg of illegally procured codeine-based cough syrups (CBCS) were also disposed of. These CBCS bottles were seized in multiple cases wherein the syndicates operated primarily from Thane and Dharavi. According to NCB, they procured the contraband through distant suppliers, often using fake documents. The illicitly diverted drugs were transported using roadways, trains and even logistic cargo consignments. Numerous persons, including kingpins, financers, carriers and associates have been arrested during the raids by NCB, including some few who had been previously registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
"NCB has been robustly engaged towards ensuring a drug-free society in the directive of which it has clamped down the inter-state as well as international drug syndicates by curbing the drug trafficking, bursting the financial linkages," a statement by the law-enforcement agency said.
