Cocaine worth Rs 26.5 cr concealed in thermocol balls seized at Delhi airport
Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Jun, 2023 10:38 AM
New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) announced on Thursday that they seized 1,922 grams of cocaine worth Rs 26.5 crore, which was sent from Brazil through a courier consignment.
"Based on specific intelligence developed by the DRI, a courier consignment arriving at the New Courier Terminal in New Delhi was put on hold and examined by DRI officers. This led to the recovery of 1,922 grams of cocaine, with a street value of Rs 26.5 crore," said an official.
The DRI officer further stated that the consignment arrived in two boxes from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and was declared as containing "Table Center" (a decorative object).
Upon opening the boxes, two crystal glassware decorative bowls (one in each box) were found, along with hundreds of thermocol balls used for cushioning the glassware.
"Upon careful examination, it was observed that some of the thermocol balls were slightly heavier (1-2 grams only) than the rest. After cutting open all the thermocol balls, it was discovered that 972 out of 10,000 balls contained polythene balls filled with a white-coloured powder," said the official.
The white-coloured powder inside the thermocol balls tested positive for cocaine in the preliminary test.
A total of about 1,922 grams of cocaine, valued at Rs 26.5 crore, has been recovered and seized under the NDPS Act.
Further investigation into the matter is going on.
A police officer said that the narcotic substances were recovered from several soap cases kept in hidden chambers in an 18-wheel truck. The police have arrested the driver Hannan Ali. The vehicle was coming from Manipur and the consignment was most probably to be delivered in Guwahati.
Delhi Police had sought the custody of the arrested persons, which was granted by a duty magistrate on Tuesday. The four persons were arrested on Sunday night. Recently, a fresh case under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) was lodged by the Delhi Police against the members of PFI, which was banned for five years by the Centre last week.
Punjab Police have arrested 5,824 drug smugglers, including 916 big fish, since July 5, Inspector General Sukhchain Singh Gill said here on Tuesday. He said 203 kg heroin was recovered. Additionally, 147.5 kg heroin was recovered by Punjab Police from seaports of Gujarat and Maharashtra, taking the total effective recovery of heroin to 350 kg in just three months.
Farmers under the aegis of Kisan Mazdur Sangarash Committee (KMSC) held protest and rail roko prorgramme at 17 different places in Punjab on Monday to mark the anniversary of Lakhimpur Kheri incident. It may be noted that 8 persons including four farmers had died during a protest in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3, 2021.
Announcing this on the floor of Assembly, he said the farmers will get the additional amount under State Agreed Price (SAP) of sugarcane as compared to the last year. With this decision, the state government will spend additional Rs 200 crore annually to benefit the farmers.
Accordingly, the police registered a case under sections 302 (murder), 307 (atttempt to murder) and 34 (common intention) at the Adarsh Nagar police station and during investigation, it was revealed that deceased had a quarrel with the five accused classmates in their school, due to which they murdered him to take revenge, while they were going home.
