BENGALURU: Bengaluru is emerging as the transit route for the banned precursor psychotropic drug pseudoephedrine from South India to Australia.“During the lockdown, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Bengaluru, alone had seized over 25 kg of pseudoephedrine, which was being smuggled out from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) to Australia through courier consignments,” said sources in the DRI.
“In all the instances, the seized drug had reportedly originated from Chennai and the destination was Australia. There are multiple players in the drug network, who manufacture pseudoephedrine in small defunct chemical laboratories or ‘clan labs’ in and around Chennai and Hyderabad. They use small courier companies, which are part of the franchise of international courier companies, to ship the drug using fake identity cards and addresses,” added sources.The investigation so far has revealed the involvement of people not only from Chennai, but other districts in Tamil Nadu.
‘Drug hidden in household items’
In July, the DRI arrested the brother of an absconding accused from a village in South Tamil Nadu.
“The traffickers hire mules on some petty commission to drop the courier consignment at small courier companies. They conceal the drug in kitchen and other household items like photo frames, utensils, gym equipment and cardboard walls in such a way that it is difficult for the courier scanners to track them. The names, addresses, ID cards, mobile phones given to the courier firm are all fake,” added the source.
Ironically, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are strong nasal-decongestants and are legally used to manufacture pharmacological products against flu and allergies under licence from Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), Gwalior.