BENGALURU: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Monday caught an Indian man redhanded at the KSR Bengaluru Railway Station and seized heroin smuggled from Ethiopia, valued at Rs 112 crore in the market, from him. The huge haul of 16 kg is the single-biggest seizure of heroin in the state by the DRI, said sources.
The narcotic substance was concealed in packages in false bottoms of two trol ley suitcases, which the individual had with him when waiting to board the Rajdhani Express to Hazrat Nizammudin in New Delhi, said a source. The 35-year-old individual, who resides in an area bordering Tamil Nadu and Kerala, had returned from Ethiopia the same day, August 1, by Ethiopian Airlines, he added.
The suspect managed to smuggle the huge consignment undetected at the international airports of both Addis Ababa and Bengaluru. “Based on intelligence about the huge consignment being taken to be handed over to accomplices in New Delhi, DRI sleuths lay in wait for his arrival. When he reached the platform with his two pieces of luggage, he was apprehended.
He also confessed about carrying heroin with him,” another source said. The suitcases were completely dismantled, which revealed the powdered drug. Heroin, a drug extracted from opium, is an addictive substance, sought after at parties. “The present going rate is Rs 7 crore per kg,” the source added.
With massive security checks in place at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the smuggler may have chosen the safer route of reaching Bengaluru and taking a train to Delhi. The individual has been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The sources refused to share the name or other details of the individual, as investigations continue.