In one of the biggest drug hauls in the country, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has reportedly seized two shipping containers with heroin worth an estimated Rs 9,000 crore from Mundra Port in Gujarat’s Kutch district.
The contraband originated from Afghanistan and the cargo was camouflaged between bags of talcum powder in the two containers that landed at Mundra Port in Gujarat on Tuesday.
The containers were imported from Afghanistan to Mundra Port allegedly by Vijaywada-based Ashi Trading Firm.
Sources said the Indian firm had reportedly declared the consignment as “talcum powder”. The exporting firm has been identified as Hassan Hussain Ltd., based in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The valuation of the seized contraband has been arrived at by the DRI and customs that were undertaking the checks of the suspicious consignment.
The drug haul was made from two containers that landed at Mundra Port on Tuesday. These containers were carrying heroin in 38 bags.
The DRI officials engaged in the checks segregated the talcum powder bags from those containing heroin after a preliminary inquiry revealed the presence of a narcotic substance in the two shipping containers.
The Afghan origin consignment was loaded at Bandar Abbas in Iran, the sources said.
The case is being handled by the Gandhidham unit of DRI which is the nearest railway network link to the Mundra Port.
The purity of the seized narcotics could not be ascertained immediately.
Following the seizures, intelligence agencies have now swung into action and are tracking the kingpin of this drug trafficking racket to unravel the entire syndicate.
The agencies maintained studied silence on the seizures.
Kandahar has been a stronghold of the Taliban and a major hub of the poppy cultivation and export of banned drugs globally. Afghanistan has the dubious distinction of supplying the highest quality of narcotics globally.
Following the takeover of Kabul on August 15, Taliban has been revitalising the drugs syndicate in collusion with the Al Qaeda and Pakistan Army-ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) combine to stave off the funds crunch that country is facing amid pending recognition of the governance structure there.
