DRI seizes meth, ecstasy worth Rs 5 crore in Mumbai; Nigerian woman arrested
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 20 (ANI): Acting on specific intelligence, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, intercepted a Nigerian woman suspected of transporting narcotic substances from Delhi to Mumbai by bus.
The operation, conducted late at night, involved a 50-kilometre surveillance trail before the woman was stopped and her baggage checked.
'Upon examination of her luggage, officers recovered food packets (oats) and juice tetra packs containing a crystalline substance and tablets. Laboratory testing using the NDPS Field Test Kit confirmed the substances to be 2.56 kilograms of methamphetamine and 584 grams of ecstasy tablets.' DRI said in a statement on Thursday.
In a follow-up operation, the person who was to receive the consignment was also apprehended. The seized narcotics are valued at around Rs 5 crore in the international illegal drug market.
The Nigerian national has been taken into custody under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Further investigation is currently underway.
In a separate incident on May 11 this year, DRI officials in Mumbai, acting on specific intelligence, intercepted a male passenger--a Chadian national--who had arrived from Addis Ababa. During a personal search, gold bars of foreign origin were found cleverly concealed within the heels of his slippers.
The total weight of the seized gold was 4,015 grams, with an estimated value of Rs 3.86 crore. In his voluntary statement, the passenger admitted to smuggling the gold to evade customs duties. The gold was seized, and he was arrested under the provisions of the Customs Act of 1962. Further investigation was launched into the matter.
Earlier in April, DRI officials also apprehended an Indian male passenger at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) in Delhi. He was found carrying two kilograms of gold bars, valued at approximately Rs 1.91 crore. The agency seized the smuggled gold, and legal proceedings were initiated under the Customs Act. (ANI)
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