DRI Mumbai seize more than 9 kg cocaine worth Rs 100 cr, four arrested

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In a major success in curbing the drug menace in India, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Mumbai has seized 9.829 kg of cocaine with an illicit market value of approximately 100 crores and apprehended two female passengers of Indonesian and Thai nationality who had come from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a press release said, reported news agency ANI.

The interrogation of the passengers and swift analysis of the case data revealed that the drugs were destined for smuggling by a syndicate based in Delhi and nearby areas.

While one team of DRI officers stationed in Mumbai placed surveillance and started monitoring syndicate activities, another team of DRI Mumbai officers was deployed and rushed to Delhi to apprehend the other key members of the syndicate, the release said, reported ANI.

The DRI Mumbai officers reached Delhi and they kept surveillance overnight and were successful in catching the prospective recipient of the seized substance who was an African national.

The officers laid a trap in Greater Noida with the help of local officers and identified the mastermind. During the interception, the mastermind got violent and he sprinted by pushing the officers with his full might. The DRI officers, in a dramatic chase, apprehended the Nigerian mastermind and his associate. The officers as well as the accused got mildly injured during the chase, reported ANI.

Subsequently, both of these members of the international drug smuggling syndicate, along with the two passengers were arrested by DRI, Mumbai, under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the release said, reported ANI.

Meanwhile, a high-level Drug Destruction Committee of CBIC including senior officials of DRI and Mumbai Customs, on Tuesday destroyed 31.948 kg of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) worth Rs 265 crore, according to an official release, reported ANI.

NDPS like heroin, cocaine, and marijuana were incinerated at the Common Hazardous Waste Treatment Storage & Disposal Facility (CHWTSDF), MWML, Taloja, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. Incineration of such seized items, which are hazardous to nature if released otherwise, is required to be done in incinerators fitted with standardised pollution control devices.

This is the third such destruction in this financial year, the first being on July 19, 2023, of 128.47 kg of drugs valued at Rs 865 crore and the second on December 13, 2023, of 54.85 kg of drugs valued at Rs 410 crore in the illicit market, reported ANI.

Thus, in this financial year, a total of 215.268 kg of drugs valued at Rs 1540 crore were destroyed, officials stated further.These drugs have been seized by various agencies, like the Postal Appraisal Section (PAS), the Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch (SIIB) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

(With inputs from ANI)