The Delhi Police's Special Cell arrested two key members of an international narcotics cartel from Bihar. Police said that they have also seized 10 kg heroin and 10 kg opium worth over Rs 60 crore from them.

The accused, who were arrested from Muzaffarpur, have been identified as Abhishek Raja (26) and Nizamuddin (34). The accused and their associates supplied drugs in Delhi-NCR and other states for the last three years. The recovered heroin and opium was smuggled into India from Myanmar via Manipur, the police said.

A Scorpio with secret cavities to conceal and transport the drugs was also seized. According to Jasmeet Singh, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP),  Special Cell, a team of the Special Cell was working on information that an international drug cartel was active in Manipur, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi. "The gang received heroin, which was smuggled from Myanmar, from Manipur.

This was supplied to various parts of the country, including Delhi-NCR. It took three months' effort to gather the information. During this process, members of the cartel were identified and their activities kept under surveillance,” said the DCP.

“A police team was sent to Bihar to arrest the cartel members. Acting on a tip-off, both the suppliers -- Abhishek Raja and Nizamuddin -- were apprehended on September 12 while travelling in a Scorpio near Jhanjharpur on NH 27 in Darbhanga district,” said the DCP. “Interrogations revealed that they were members of a big international cartel. They supplied the drugs in Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand from Manipur for the last three years,” said the DCP. “The accused had procured the heroin and opium from a person in Manipur following the directions of their Bihar-based kingpin.

They had come to Delhi to deliver the consignment to a person, he added."They revealed that their handler used to work in Manipur and developed contacts with drug suppliers. After coming back to Bihar, his home state, he developed his own network," he said.

The demand for heroin smuggled from Myanmar and Manipur is very high due to its superior quality, compared with the heroin manufactured from opium cultivated in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, said the DCP.

“The interrogations also revealed that for the last seven-eight years, this route had become prominent for smuggling heroin and other drugs from Myanmar via Manipur,” said the DCP adding that the police are trying to identify the remaining members of the cartel.