CHENNAI: A four-member gang involved in smuggling narcotics worth `5 crore through export containers and speed posts has been nabbed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
They were caught while fleeing Chennai in a van near Chengalpattu. Their names of the four were given as Syed Musafar Sadiq (32), the alleged mastermind, and his accomplices S M Sirajudeen (31), Satish (30) and V Packiakumar (46).
A DRI spokesman said the gang was involved in the smuggling of `4.8 crore worth Pseudoephedrine, a controlled substance under the NDPS ACT 1985, through a container, which was to be loaded for export of legging materials to Malaysia.
“We got a tip off and tracked the container and brought it to Container Freight Station at Manali. During examination of the container, which was consigned by M M Exporters at Mannady to A R Bright Trading and Resources Melaka in Malaysia, the drug weighing 23.9kg worth `4.78 crore was concealed in bales of cotton dyed fabric (legging materials),” the spokesman said.
In a separate case, DRI officials intercepted a speed post consignment in National Sorting Hub and seized 9990 Alprazolam tablets, a schedule H1 drug covered under NDPS Act, 1985.
“Further examining the parcel, booked by Tariq Ali Khan with address as Mobeen Tailor in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, to Syed Ali Shah of Mannady in Chennai, we found a total of 10,000 Alprazolam tablets in 33 packets,” the spokesman said.