BENGALURU: A drug smuggler involved in a bid to export 4.496 kg of ephedrine worth nearly Rs 90 lakh by courier from Bengaluru Airport to Australia has been nabbed in Chennai by Vijayawada Police. He was produced before the National Drugs and Psychotropic Substances court in Bengaluru on Friday (May 20) and remanded to judicial custody for two weeks.
The drug racket spreads across three states and the arrest of this 46-year-old native of Chennai (name withheld) would help unravel more such cases, said a top Customs official. “The use of morphed Aadhaar cards (photo replaced in card) to escape from the law is a new development in booking consignments and serves as a reminder to the public to be cautious before sharing their identity documents with anyone,” he stressed. In this specific instance, the card of a man identified as Sai Gopi based in Guntur had been misused.
This specific consignment was seized on April 29 at the International Courier Terminal of Kempegowda International Airport by the Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU), Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (SIIB), Bengaluru Airport and Air Cargo Commissionerate. "Ephedrine was concealed in the form of a white crystalline substance inside readymade garments," he said.
Over the counter trade of ephedrine is banned in India and is used to treat bronchitis and asthma abroad. Uncontrolled use causes euphoria, hallucinations and hypertension.
Vijayawada police had nabbed him a couple of days ago in connection with a different cheating case and lodged him at a prison in Rajahmundry. He had many Aadhaar cards with him. The smuggler confessed during interrogation to police about his involvement in the attempt to ship a consignment from Bengaluru airport.
They alerted Bengaluru Customs who were on the lookout for him following the arrest of a courier employee at airport last month. CIU Bengaluru went to Rajahmundry with an order from the NDPS court and brought him here. Customs officials learnt later he had misused Gopi's Aadhaar card.
The Customs official added, “Courier agencies should ensure stricter checks at all their outlets to detect such instances.”
He reiterated, “Public need to maintain due diligence and care to ensure that they do not fall prey to such tactics. Do not share identity documents with unscrupulous and unauthorised entities who may misuse them.”