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.
Bishnoi, who was brought from New Delhi after procuring the transit remand from Patiala House court, was produced in a Mansa court in Punjab at around 4 a.m. amid high-level security after his medical check-up.
The police have also recovered an illegal weapon and live cartridge from the criminal. The accused has been identified as Aakash, a native of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.
The Punjab Police informed Delhi Police that the location of one of the phone numbers was traced to Delhi, and that the accused were changing their locations frequently. Acting on the tip-off, Delhi Police followed the leads obtained through technical surveillance and digital footprints.
SSP Mohali, Vivek Sheel Soni said, the two accused identified as Gagandeep Singh alias Gaagi and Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi are residents of Dabbwali in Sirsa district of Haryana.
The Punjab police will take him by a bulletproof car which will be escorted by a dozen cars full of cops. More than 50 police personnel will escort the vehicles to make sure no untoward incident takes place.
