Mundra port heroin seizure: NIA seizes 'talc mixed with drugs' after raid

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The NIA seized what is understood to be talc mixed with narcotics during a raid at a godown here in connection with its probe related to the recent seizure of 2,988 kg of heroin at Gujarat's Mundra port.

The search, according to the agency, was carried out in a building located in the Nebsarai area of the national capital. "...white powder material, suspected to be talc mixed with narcotics, has been seized with the help of the FSL (forensic science laboratory)," a National Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesperson said.

The agency had carried out similar searches in the Mundra heroin seizure case twice earlier. The NIA early this month took over the case from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on the directions of the Union home ministry and registered a criminal complaint under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

The case relates to the seizure of 2,988.21 kg of narcotic substance - heroin -- at the Mundra port and the involvement of foreign nationals in the procurement and delivery of the consignment, an NIA official had said. On September 13, the DRI detained two containers that had arrived at Mundra Port from Kandahar in Afghanistan through the Bandar Abbas port of Iran.

The declaration accompanying the containers claimed they had "semi-processed talc stones". However, a thorough examination established that the two containers in fact contained 2,988 kg of heroin worth Rs 21,000 crore, which was concealed in "the lower layers" of "jumbo bags" topped with talc stones, an official release had said.

The DRI had arrested eight persons, including five foreign nationals, in connection with the seizure of the drugs. Searches were then conducted by the NIA in Chennai, Coimbatore and Vijayawada at the premises of the accused.

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