CHENNAI: Of late, drug traffickers seem to prefer Indian postal services to smuggle drugs to international destinations. While sending the contraband through private courier companies is not a new modus operandi, the recent bid to smuggle two kg of pseudoephedrine and 100g of heroin by a Delhi-based international drug cartel through India Post has garnered the attention of the Narcotics Control Board in Chennai, which is now studying this new means.
“We have come across several cases where the Delhi-based international drug cartel has been trying to smuggle drugs from southern cities using private courier services. Now, we are studying this phenomenon where the postal department is being targeted,” Prem Anand Sinha, South Zonal Director of Narcotics Control Bureau, told Express. Even the Postal Department is puzzled with this sudden phenomenon. “This is the first time that such a thing has happened,” said a senior postal employee who oversees the mail operations, referring to an incident.
Sinha said that the NCB would now conduct awareness programmes for postal employees. “Now, we will try to sensitise postal employees,” he added. Courier companies and the Postal Department should be more alert and also find out why foreigners are sending items that are commonly available in the destinations to which the courier is marked. Drug traffickers are now trying to smuggle the consignment through fancy handbags or inside clothes. “Most of them are now using machines to pack it in such a way that it tricks the eyes of the enforcement authorities. Of the five packages, one or two may be caught,” Sinha said.