KOCHI: The Customs Preventive Wing sleuths here seized 500 gm of suspected amphetamine consignment, which had arrived by a courier from Hong Kong, on Wednesday . The packet was seized during an inspection at the post office in the morning. Customs officers said the courier, addressed to a Kochi native, was received at the international post office in the city, which, in turn, alerted officers. The seized contraband has been sent for chemical analysis to determine the contents inside. A probe is on to trace the intended recipient of the courier, said officers. If chemical analysis confirms the contraband as amphetamine, the amount seized will be worth `1 crore in the international market.
The attempt to smuggle the contraband via courier has set alarm bells ringing among sleuths. But this is not the first instance of drug racketeers pushed their consignments into the state via courier parcels. In 2016, Customs sleuths arrested a Nigeria national for attempting to smuggle drugs worth `8 crore to foreign countries via a courier service agency in Kochi. The consignment was consigned to Netherlands, Greece, Spain and Australia and contained 4 kg of heroine, valued at `7 crore, and 300 gm of Methamphetamine valued at nearly `1 crore.
The Excise Special Squad in Aluva had also seized 600 gm of ganja being sent to Dubai via a parcel service agency in Kochi in 2016. In another incident, the anti-narcotics special squad of the Excise had unearthed two consecutive cases of youths receiving Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) parcels from Goa.
Drug peddling
Customs officers said the courier, addressed to a Kochi native, was received at the international post office in the city, which, in turn, alerted officers.