MADURAI: In a major drug bust, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 36kg of methamphetamine worth around Rs 180 crore from a man and his wife on Friday. While 30kg of the contraband was seized from I Clement Prakash (42) of Chennai when he got off a train at Madurai railway station on Friday morning, about six kg of the drug was recovered from Kondungaiyur dump yard in Chennai based on his wife’s confession.
The woman, a resident of Kannadasan Nagar in Chennai, had dumped the drug in the garbage bin and corporation workers had taken it to the yard along with other waste. Both Prakash and his wife have been detained. The drug was to be transported to Sri Lanka through coastal route, DRI sources said.
According to a press statement issued by PIB (public information bureau) on Friday, based on specific intelligence inputs about narcotic substance being carried by a passenger travelling on Pothigai Express Train from Chennai to Madurai on Thursday, a plan was laid to trap the passenger at Madurai Railway Station.
On Friday morning, when the train reached Madurai station, an extensive surveillance was carried out and the passenger was identified and intercepted with the help of RPF (railway police force) officials.
DRI recovered 6kg of crystal meth at dumpsite
On examination of his baggage, 30kg of white coloured crystal substance was found in 15 packets. When the substance was tested, it was found to be methamphetamine, and the contraband was seized.
“On interrogation, the man revealed that some more methamphetamine packets were kept at his home in Chennai. Immediately, DRI teams launched a search at his home and it came to light that his wife had thrown away the narcotic packets in the dustbin and the garbage was already taken to Kondungaiyur dump yard by civic body workers.
A DRI team went to the dumpsite and after extensive search at the dump, recovered three packets weighing six kg in total containing white coloured crystal substance which was later tested and confirmed to be methamphetamine,” the release read. The international market value of the seized narcotics is estimated to be around Rs 180 crore.
As per preliminary investigation, the suspect was carrying the contraband for further transportation to Sri Lanka. Both the man and his wife have been detained and further probe is on, the release said.
Methamphetamine, also known as ‘ice’ or ‘crystal meth’, is a highly addictive psychostimulant drug that exhibits powerful euphoric effects similar to those of cocaine leading to life threatening consequences. DRI had recently caught an Indonesian passenger at Chennai Airport carrying 2.79kg of cocaine worth Rs 27.9 crore.
Reacting to the seizure, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said it was “very shocking and painful that the ruling DMK has turned Tamil Nadu into a state where all kinds of drugs like ganja, cocaine, heroin and now methamphetamine are easily available.”
BJP state chief K Annamalai too lashed out at the ruling dispensation and said Tamil Nadu has truly become the drug capital of India, and that “Thiru @mkstalin should hang his head in shame for transforming this state into a haven for drug traffickers.”
Contraband was to be moved to Sl
Methamphetamine, also known as ‘ice’ or ‘crystal meth’, is a highly addictive psychostimulant that creates euphoric effects similar to that of cocaine leading to life threatening consequences. The consignment was to be transported to Sri Lanka through coastal route