KOCHI: The drugs consignment worth around `20,000 crore seized from a ship off Kerala coast has links to the ill-famous Karachi-based Haji Salim network, says the Narcotics Control Bureau.
Around 2,500kg of high-grade methamphetamine (meth) were seized on Saturday in a joint operation by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Indian Navy from a mother ship passing through the Arabian Sea.
According to NCB officials, some of the containers used to pack the contraband had the ‘555 Rolex’ seal, which is associated with Haji Salim network. They are also examining the involvement of other cartels.
The officials said this is the third time a large consignment belonging to the Haji Salim network has been seized off the Kerala shores in the past two years.
The officials said the Iranian ship, which acted as the mother vessel, was destined for Sri Lanka. The ship was sinking when it was intercepted. The officials suspect that the smugglers probably realised that they had been spotted and were trying to sink the vessel before action by law enforcement.
Meanwhile, NCB officials are interrogating the Pakistan national arrested from the vessel. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) have also grilled four other crew members of the ship. The Pakistan national will be produced before court on Monday. The NCB will seek his custody for further probe. “Usually, the consignment trafficked in mother vessel is portioned up and moved to small boats, mostly fishing vessels, before being smuggled to India, Sri Lanka and Maldives,” an officer said.
NCB examines involvement of other cartels in drug trafficking
“In the consignment seized on Saturday, three types of seals were found in the containers used to conceal the contraband. One had ‘555 Rolex’ emblem of the Haji Salim network. The other two seals are that of ‘scorpion’ and ‘B’ emblems.
The ‘B’ emblem also has a description around it. We are checking whether drugs belonging to other cartels are part of the consignment, “ the officer said. The NCB suspects that there are more drugs inside the vessel. The vessel is believed to have set sail from a Pakistani port city on the Makran coast before Tuesday. Satellite communication modes were used in the vessel.
Methamphetamine, a chemical drug, is manufactured in large quantities in the interior areas bordering Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran,” said a source. Haji Salim’s name first came to light when the NCB intercepted a Sri Lankan vessel off the Kerala coast in 2021. The NIA which took over the probe found that drugs and weapons, belonging to the Haji Salim network, were being smuggled to Sri Lanka for reviving the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group.
The NIA probe also found that drug cartels in Pakistan and Afghanistan were closely associated with terrorist groups and act as their chief funding sources. In May 2022, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence intercepted two Indian fishing boats with 218kg of heroin. In October the same year, the NCB seized 200kg of heroin from an Iranian dhow, which led to the arrest of its six crew members, including four Iranians.