News Analysis India

Tag: Mundra port

  • Mundra Port drug haul: Afghan national remanded in NIA custody for three days

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: A special court here has remanded an Afghan national in the NIA’s custody for three days in connection with a case pertaining to the seizure of 2,988 kg of drugs at the Mundra Port in Gujarat last month.

    Mohammed Khan, an accused in the Rs 21,000-crore heroin seizure case, was on Monday sent in the NIA’s custody by special judge Shubhada Baxi, after he was brought here from Patiala on a transit warrant.

    The special NIA court granted three-day remand of Khan to the National Investigation Agency, as against four days sought by it.

    Earlier, on October 18, the court had sent three accused in the case to the NIA’s custody for 10 days.

    The three accused included M Sudhakaran and Durga Vaishali, who allegedly ran the Vijayawada-registered M/s Aashi Trading Company which had imported a consignment of ‘talc stones’, and Rajkumar P.

    “Khan’s name was revealed during the investigation into the case, and a lookout notice was issued against him. He was detained by authorities at the Delhi airport while he was trying to escape from the country, and was handed over to the NIA and taken to Patiala,” said Amit Nair, the special public prosecutor for the NIA.

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

    The case was initially investigated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

    The Union Ministry of Home Affairs later transferred the investigation into the case to the NIA.

    The accused have also been booked under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and the NIA is conducting a probe to unearth a larger conspiracy behind the seizure.

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

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

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

  • Mundra port heroin seizure: NIA seizes ‘talc mixed with drugs’ after raid

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The NIA on Wednesday 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 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 premises of the accused.

  • Gujarat: Congress targets Modi government over Mundra Port drug haul

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Congress on Thursday attacked the BJP-led government at the Centre over the seizure of heroin worth Rs 21,000 crore at the Mundra port in Gujarat, and demanded a “detailed probe” by all the key agencies including the CBI.

    The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 2,988.21 kg of heroin from two containers at the Mundra port in Kutch district two weeks ago and subsequently arrested eight persons including five foreign nationals.

    Holding a press conference here, Congress’ national spokesperson Pawan Khera also questioned why the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which has the mandate to fight drug menace, does not have a full-time Director General at present.

    “Some media reports claimed that before this seizure, 25 tonnes of heroin had arrived at the same port in June and made its way to other parts of the country without being detected. Gujarat, the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel, is slowly becoming drugs capital of the country,” Khera said.

    “Who are the bigger players behind this entire racket? Who is running this network?” he asked.

    Why narcotic substances are landing at this port “on a regular basis” and not at other ports, the Congress leader further questioned.

    Notably, the Adani Group which runs the Mundra port had earlier issued a statement saying that only government authorities including the DRI are allowed to open, examine and seize unlawful cargo, and not port operators.

    Khera demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah take steps to bust the drug network.

    He also asked why the government has not appointed a full-time DG of the NCB.

    Capturing smuggled drug consignments was the NCB’s job, the Congress spokesperson said.

    “The BJP government can not escape its responsibility. Congress will force the government to provide answers. We want the Centre to conduct a detailed inquiry through all the key agencies such as CBI and NCB,” he said.

  • Congress to hold press conferences on Gujarat drugs haul, press for SC-monitored probe

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress will hold a series of press conferences in various parts of the country during this week over the large drugs haul in Gujarat and demand a Supreme Court-monitored probe into it, party sources said on Sunday.

    Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot will hold a press conference in Mumbai, Ashwani Kumar in Kolkata, Mukul Wasnik in Guwahati, Rajeev Shukla in Raipur, Deepender Hooda in Lucknow, Mohan Prakash in Patna, Salman Khurshid in Ranchi and Shaktisinh Gohil in Bhopal, the sources said.

    Through the press conferences, the Congress will highlight the issue and press for a Supreme Court-monitored probe into it, they said.

    In the single largest heroin haul in India, authorities seized around 3,000 kg of the drug, believed to be from Afghanistan, and likely worth Rs 21,000 crore in the global market, from two containers at the Adani-operated Mundra port in Gujarat’s Kutch district, an official had said last week.

    The Congress has alleged that the same company whose drugs were seized imported 25,000 kg of the same types of drugs worth Rs 1.75 lakh crores in June 2021.

    The party had attacked the Centre over the seizure of nearly 3,000 kg of heroin and asked how such a drug syndicate was operating in India “under the nose” of the government as well as the Narcotics Control Bureau.

  • Heroin seized at Adani’s Mundra port was meant to reach Delhi: DRI officials

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: A massive consignment of heroin, valued at more than Rs 19,899 crore, was confiscated at Mundra port in Gujarat by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). 

    While the ED filed a money laundering probe, the DRI arrested a couple who runs an import firm in connection with the case. It is being said that the consignment was to reach Vijaywada. But, senior DRI authorities claimed that the heroin was intended for Delhi.

    Roughly three tonnes of heroin – one of the largest consignments in the recent years – were shipped to India through an Iranian port, official said, adding that the consignment is believed to have originated from Afghanistan. 

    According to the police, it was found that Govindaraju Durga Purna Vaishali, a resident of Chennai, had registered the firm in August 2020. Machavaram Sudhakar is Vaishali’s husband. The Department of Foreign Trade had granted them export and import licences, according to officials. 

    It was found that Sudhakar and Vaishali had lived in Chennai for a long time. The heroin confiscated at Mundra Port was headed for Delhi, not Vijaywada as some media outlets had reported, the senior DRI authorities said.