Mumbai: Anti-Narcotics Cell grappling with complicated drug probe

The Mumbai Crime Branchrsquos AntiNarcotics Cell ANC investigating a complex case involving an international drug cartel that has exposed deeprooted transnational links and sophisticated evasion tactics is having a tough time decoding it Nine men have been arrested in connection with the case including an alleged kingpin mdash Kuldeep Singh Gozara mdash a British national believed to be coordinating global operationsThe cartel is suspected to have trafficked highgrade cocaine worth over Rs 53 crore into India through a possible network of courier services dark web orders and encrypted communicationsrdquo said an officer Anti Narcotics Cell ANC sleuths are yet to determine whether the parcel of cocaine was smuggled into India by air or via seaSignal a roadblockHowever the rigorous investigation has hit a roadblock as key suspects remain at large with officials facing significant challenges in tracing their whereabouts According to senior ANC officials the wanted accused have been using a highly secure mobile application Signal an endtoend encrypted platform that allows anonymous communication autodeletion of messages and masking of IP addresses according to a cyber cell officerDubai to Jogeshwari via DelhiThe British national Gozara arrested at Jogeshwari on May 28 had been using Signal to avoid any surveillance according to sources A total of 6 kg of cocaine had arrived in Delhi from Dubai and later it was transported to Mumbai using local networks in the national capital said the ANC sleuthsGraphicSunil HaralkarldquoGozara had been using Signal to communicate with a drug lord based in Dubai He had installed the app on his iPhonerdquo said an ANC officer The British national who claims to have suffered a huge loss in his wine business in London had been residing in Dubai for the past year said an officer privy to the investigationldquoGozara told us that he wanted to mint money by selling drugs to recover the losses in his business According to his passport details he made several visits to India in the past year Though he has been denying it we are checking to see if in the past too he was involved in any drug racket during his India visitsrdquo the officer saidThe arrestsAfter nabbing Gozara who had landed in Mumbai on May 23 along with his Nepali caretaker ANC sleuths made subsequent arrests and held seven others including Mozambique Portuguese and Indian nationalsldquoGozara is a big catch in this case as he had travelled from Dubai to Mumbai along with a caretaker a Nepali resident We confiscated a total of 5293 kg of cocaine worth Rs 53 crore from their possession in Jogeshwarirdquo said an officer privy to the investigationThe ANC sleuths further told midday that Delhibased carriers had come to Mumbai to deliver the drug consignment to Gozara The latter then gave around 1 kg of cocaine to Mozambique and Portuguese nationals in his employ to sell ldquoWe have arrested these foreign nationals and recovered around 300 grams of cocaine from them But we are yet to get the details of those to whom they sold cocaine We will catch themrdquo said the officerRitesh Bhatia cyber expertThe Mozambique and Portuguese nationals have told Crime Branch officers that they run a clothing exportimport business The ANC sleuths also told midday that the gang had sold cocaine in Jogeshwari and rerouted the money to Dubai using a hawala network ldquoWe have also arrested an individual involved in the hawala network however we are still identifying the drug lord believed to be operating the network from Dubairdquo said the officerWhy Signal appThe internetenabled application is being widely used by human traffickers sex racketeers drug lords etc to avoid surveillance said a senior officer attached to Mumbai police cyber cellA senior officer of the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar MBVV polices cyber cell told midday ldquoIndividuals seeking to avoid surveillance often use the Signal app because it offers greater anonymity in communication Unlike WhatsApp where users must know each otherrsquos mobile numbers to initiate a chat Signal allows users to interact with one another without revealing personal details provided they know each others unique identifiers Additionally Signal includes a feature that enables users to mask their IP addresses making it significantly more difficult for any law enforcement agencies to monitor suspects or trace their digital footprintsrdquoMeanwhile an ANC officer said ldquoIt is an internetenabled application that can be accessed using hotel WiFi Additionally these individuals frequently travel across countries while using international roaming services to stay connectedrdquoA cyber expert Ritesh Bhatia said ldquoBad actors prefer Signal because its strong encryption minimal data collection unlike other apps that collect metadata disappearing messages and anonymity features make it a secure channel for illicit communication and fraud complicating efforts to trace or monitor their activities Also Signalrsquos security is designed to protect privacy and free expression and these same features are misused by bad actorsrdquoldquoBut most importantly when legally compelled Signal only provides the limited information it holds which is minimal by design and publicly discloses such requests and responses transparently Signalrsquos leadership has repeatedly stated they will not weaken encryption or build backdoors even if governments mandate access emphasising their commitment to user privacyrdquo Bhatia addedA cyber lawyer Puneet Bhasin said ldquoMost applications which offer anonymity from national governments are already misused by criminals and itrsquos not just Signal There are email service providers and dark web forums which are misused for criminal activity communicationsrdquoldquoOur government has taken extensive steps to bring them under Indian law with the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Indian technology data protection and criminal laws Any service provider offering services to Indians will have to have a representative and office in India and provide data to Indian law enforcementrdquo he addedKey highlightsHighProfile Bust Mumbai policersquos AntiNarcotics Cell ANC has uncovered a major international drug cartel with links to Dubai Portugal Mozambique and other countriesRoadblock at Signal app The drug traffickers used the Signal app for communication mdash known for endtoend encryption autodeleting messages and IP masking mdash making it hard for police to track absconding suspectsDrug Route The consignment is believed to have arrived from Dubai to Delhi and was later transported to Mumbai via local networks The exact smuggling route air or sea is still under investigationHawala route Proceeds from cocaine sales were routed back to Dubai via a hawala network9 ArrestedThese include the alleged kingpin Kuldeep Singh Gozara a British national6 kgQuantity of cocaine worth R53 crore sent to Mumbai from Dubai via Delhi52 kgAmount of cocaine recovered during Gozararsquos arrest in Jogeshwari