NCB busts interstate trafficking syndicate, seize drugs worth

MUMBAI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)’s Mumbai zonal unit has busted an interstate narcotics trafficking syndicate, seizing 75 kg of Ganja (Cannabis) on Friday and 4,800 bottles of illicitly diverted codeine syrup worth ₹1.75 crore on Thursday in Ulhasnagar. The agency arrested six persons having alleged links with the syndicate and is looking for more of their accomplices as part of its crackdown, NCB sources said.
The NCB also seized ₹1.18 lakh cash on suspicions that they were proceeds from the sale of narcotics in the past. The seizures of the contraband, the money and the arrest of the six accused persons were taken under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The agency’s operation was based on the intelligence that an Ulhasnagar-based syndicate was actively engaged in inter-state trafficking of illegally diverted CBCS (Codeine-Based Cough Syrup, the sources said. “It was analysed that the syndicate had sketched a plan for procurement of consignments of CBCS and during further enquiry, the consignment was tracked at a courier office at Ulhasnagar,” NCB (Mumbai)’s Additional Director, Amit Ghawate, an Indian Revenue Service officer said.
An NCB-Mumbai team reached the location and conducted discreet surveillance. On Thursday, a consignment was intercepted in the operation, which contained 4,800 CBCS bottles and an alleged “receiver” of it, Vinod P, was arrested by the agency. The arrested accused allegedly disclosed during his interrogation details related to other syndicate members who were also engaged in the illicit trafficking of drugs.
On Friday, other associates of the arrested accused, Manish P, Akash P, Raj K, Mohanish S and Sunny J were intercepted while travelling in a vehicle in Bhiwandi by the NCB. During a search of the vehicle, 75 kg of Ganja was recovered from travel bags, trolley bags and gunny bags kept inside it.
NCB disposes 5,500 kg of seized narcotics worth ₹52 crore
The Mumbai Zonal Unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Thursday and Friday disposed of around 5,500 kg, including 10 kg of cocaine, illicit drugs worth around ₹52 crore, the agency had seized in various cases.
The NCB, which is the national nodal drug law enforcement agency, had intercepted the drugs in multiple cases probed by it in the recent past wherein several accused persons including foreign nationals were arrested.
The seized drugs were disposed of through incineration at the Mumbai Waste Management Limited, Taloja, Navi Mumbai. A High-Level Drug Disposal Committee (HLDDC) had been constituted following the guidelines prescribed by the Supreme Court for such an exercise.
The HLDCC comprised of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Maneesh Kumar, Deputy Director General, NCB, IRS officer Amit Ghawate, Additional Director, NCB-Mumbai and Rajendra Shirtode, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Mumbai police. The HLDCC had reviewed the details of the seizure cases and then zeroed in on the eligible cases for disposal.
“About 10 kg of cocaine, seized in multiple cases wherein numerous arrests have been made including foreign nationals, were disposed of. The narcotic was primarily sourced from South America and illegally trafficked into India, through concealment methods, by drug mules who travelled to India via multiple layovers at various halts to evade detection,” Ghawate said.
Further, over 52,130 bottles containing illicitly procured Codeine-based syrup were destroyed too. These bottles were seized in multiple cases wherein the syndicates primarily based in Thane and Mumbai’s Dharavi had procured them from distant suppliers, often using fake documents. Numerous persons, including alleged kingpins, financers, carriers and associates were arrested by the NCB in such cases, including a few who had been previously booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.