News Analysis India

Tag: Mundra drug haul case

  • NIA gets 10-day custody of three accused in Mundra drug haul case

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: A special court here on Monday granted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) 10-day remand of three persons initially arrested in a case related to seizure of 2,988 kg of heroin at Gujarat’s Mundra Port last month.

    The court of special judge P C Joshi remanded the accused, M Sudhakaran and Durga Vaishali – who allegedly ran Vijayawada-registered M/S Aashi Trading Company that had imported a consignment of ‘talc stones’ (which turned out to be drug) – and Rajkumar P, to 10-day NIA custody as sought by the central agency.

    The accused, also booked under anti-terror act UAPA, were arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) before the case was transferred earlier this month to the NIA.

    The case relates to the seizure of heroin, disguised as consignment of semi-processed talc stones originating from Afghanistan, which had arrived at the Mundra Port from the Bandar Abbas Port in Iran.

    The three accused were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and the matter was being heard by a special NDPS court at Bhuj in Kutch district.

    Soon after the case was handed over to the anti-terror agency by the Union Home Ministry, the probe agency moved an application in the Bhuj court, requesting custody of the three accused and transfer of documents to the NIA special court, which has its jurisdiction in Ahmedabad, special public prosecutor, NIA, Amit Nair said.

    The accused have now also been booked the under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

    The trio was produced before the court, which granted their custody to the NIA after its submissions, Nair said.

    On September 13, the DRI had detained two containers that had arrived at the Mundra Port from Kandahar in Afghanistan via the Bandar Abbas Port.

    The declaration accompanying the containers claimed they had “semi-processed talc stones”.

    However, on September 17 and 19, it was established that the two containers in fact contained heroin which was concealed in “the lower layers” of “jumbo bags” topped with talc stones.

    Besides the trio, five more persons have been arrested by the DRI in connection with the single largest heroin haul in India so far.

    The value of the seized drug was estimated to be nearly Rs 21,000 crore.

  • NIA conducts raids at five places in Delhi, NCR in 3,000 kg Mundra drug haul case

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday conducted raids at five locations in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) linked to the seizure of 3,000 kilograms of drugs at Gujarat’s Mundra Port.

    The searches were conducted at residential premises and godowns at Lajpat Nagar, Alipur, Khera Kalan, New Delhi and Noida in connection with the seizure of semi-processed Talc stones with contraband drugs imported by Aashi Trading Company.

    During the searches, various incriminating documents, articles and items were seized by NIA.

    This was the second in a series of raids carried out by the NIA on October 9 in connection with the case. Earlier, the agency had conducted raids in Chennai, Coimbatore, Vijaywada at the premises of the accused and suspects involved in the import of semi-processed Talc stones with contraband.

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    The case relates to the seizure of 2988.21 kilograms of Narcotics substance (heroin) seized at Mundra Port in Gujarat having the involvement of foreign persons in procurement and delivery of the consignment.

    The narcotics drugs were found concealed in import consignment of ‘Semi-processed Talc stones’ originating from Afghanistan which had arrived from Bandar Abbas Port, Iran.

    The NIA on October 6 took over the Mundra Port drug haul case, in which 2,988.21 kilograms of heroin was seized at Mundra port by the Directorate of Revenue last month.

    The NIA has not only invoked sections of IPC and the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act but also Section 17 (punishment for raising funds for the terrorist act) and Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy to commit terror acts) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

    The NIA FIR has mentioned Machavaram Sudhakaran, Durga P.V. Govindaraju and Rajkumar P. as accused, among others.

    Chennai-based Sudhakaran and Govindaraju own the company which was shipping the contraband. Govindaraju is the proprietor of Aashi Trading Company, registered in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada, that was importing the talc from a firm called Hasan Husain Ltd.

    Rajkumar, from Coimbatore, worked in Iran and “was co-ordinating with foreign suppliers”.

    Till date, nine people have been arrested in the case. Four among these are Afghans and one is an Uzbek national. The total seizure has gone up to 3,004 kg.

    All the arrests have been made by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). Parallelly, the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Enforcement Directorate are also probing the case.

    The September 16 seizure is said to be one the single-biggest hauls in India, worth over Rs 21,000 crore.