NEW DELHI: In a major breakthrough against the drug trafficking syndicates operating in Delhi-NCR, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized a massive quantity of high-quality Cocaine valued at approximately Rs 1000 Crore from two places in the national capital and arrested two key members of the syndicate, a senior officer said on Friday.
The arrested accused, whose identity was not shared by the agency, are residents of Delhi and Sonipat in Haryana.
Furnishing more details, Deputy Director General (NR) Neeraj Kumar Gupta said this seizure was a result of a concerted effort made by the team NCB on the leads developed during a previous seizure in the month of March and August, this year.
"After working on the leads generated in these cases, and through technical and human intelligence, the NCB was finally able to reach the source of the contraband, and 82.53 Kg of high-grade cocaine was recovered from Janakpuri and Nangloi area of Delhi on November 14," the officer said.
In this case, the initial recovery, from a courier shop in Delhi, was from a parcel that was destined for Australia. The NCB backtracked the supply despite "cut-offs" to the bulk quantity, which was concealed at Janakpuri and Nangloi, Delhi.
The investigation conducted by the drug law enforcement agency has so far revealed that this syndicate is being operated by a group of people based abroad and some quantity of the seized contraband was to be sent to Australia through courier or small cargo services.
"The persons involved in this case are mainly 'Hawala Operators' and anonymous to each other, using pseudo-names for day-to-day conversations on drug dealing. Two main operatives of the syndicate in India, who are residents of Delhi and Sonipat respectively, have been arrested so far," the DDG said.
He said that the investigations to identify the backward and forward linkages of the drug syndicate and the source of the seized cocaine are underway with the help of foreign Drug Law Enforcement Agencies.
Notably, drug syndicates these days use couriers, parcels, and postal services to smuggle drugs and even deliver them. The increased use of couriers or postal services is directly linked to increased Dark Web activity in India.
The officer informed that in order to contain the issue of drug trafficking through courier companies, regular capacity-building programs are organized by NCB for other DLEAS (Drug Law Enforcement Agencies). NCB has also organized sensitization programs for courier companies and the India Posts across India.
Last month, the NCB in a joint operation with the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, has dismantled a syndicate of drug manufacturers who had clandestinely established a laboratory in the Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh and were manufacturing synthetic drugs like methamphetamine. The agency had arrested four people including the warden of Tihar Jail and a Delhi-based businessman. Apart from them, a Mumbai-based chemist was also arrested who used to manufacture the drug. A total of 95 Kg of Methamphetamine valued at around Rs 100 Crore was seized at that time.