Mumbai: Rs 1,000 crore heroin from Afghanistan seized at Nhava Sheva

MUMBAI: In one of Mumbai’s biggest narcotic hauls, 191kg heroin, worth around Rs 1,000 crore, was seized at the Nhava Sheva port on Saturday night. The drug was smuggled from Afghanistan, world’s leading illicit opium maker, via Iran.

The smugglers had concealed the drug in plastic pipes painted to look like bamboo and declared it as Ayurvedic medicines. Two customs house agents, who had documented the import, have been arrested.TOI has learnt that four more persons, including an importer and a financier from Delhi, have been picked up and may be brought to Mumbai on Monday.
Customs house agents Meenanath Bodake of M B Shipping & Logistics Solution from Nerul, and Kondibhau Pandurang Gunjal from Mumbra were produced before a local court which remanded them in 14 days’ judicial custody on the condition that their Covid-19 test reports are negative.
Ongoing investigations seem to suggest that the accused had smuggled similar quantities of drugs in the past as well. Officials said this was the biggest haul in Mumbai. On January 31, the special task force of Punjab police had seized 194kg of heroin and other contraband from a rented house in Amritsar district and arrested six persons, including an Afghan national and a woman. Afghanistan has been the world's leading illicit opium maker since 2001. Afghanistan's opium poppy harvest produces more than 90% of illicit heroin globally and more than 95% of the European supply.
Customs and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) made the seizure on Saturday after an alert Customs officer detected the mis-declaration in consignment at Nhava Sheva port. Officials of the special intelligence & investigation branch (SIIB) of customs immediately sought help from the DRI.
“On examination of the container, we found there were orange-coloured gunny bags imported by Sarvim Exports. The goods inside were declared as Glycyrrhiza glabra extract, or licorice root extract,” said an official. “The wooden textured structure was covered by bark, which appeared to be pasted on it artificially. On removing the outer wooden bark and wood dust with the help of a cutter, it was noticed that there was a green coloured plastic pipe and inside this the cream coloured powder purported to be heroin was found. A test using an NDPS kit confirmed it was heroin.”
The consignment was then seized under the provisions of the NDPS Act.
Arrested CHA Bodake told investigators that one Mohammed Numan had introduced Delhi-based importer Suresh Bhatia of Sarvim Exports to him. On further inquiry, it was found that Bhatia was arrested in the past in a drug peddling case.
“A larger syndicate is involved in the distribution of the narcotics. Some of the accomplices of the accused, who had abetted the crime, are yet to be apprehended,” said a senior official.