The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized 7 kg of cocaine worth Rs 30 crore and arrested five persons, four of them African nationals, in operations conducted in New Delhi and Mumbai, an official said on Tuesday. Two women - an Indian and an Ethiopian - were among those apprehended.
In a joint operation, the NCB's Mumbai and Delhi units recovered 4.9 kg of cocaine from a woman in the Tilak Nagar area of New Delhi on October 13, the official said. The contraband was concealed in a trolley bag found in the woman's possession, he said.
A probe revealed the drug was sourced from a hotel in the Masjid Bandar area of Mumbai and in an immediate follow-up action, two Ethiopian nationals, who had allegedly given the trolley bag to the woman, were apprehended on October 14, the official said. Following further investigations, two more Ethiopian nationals, including a woman, were nabbed from a hotel in Masjid Bandar, he said.
At least 2 kg of cocaine was recovered from a similar trolley bag and USD 8,000 in cash was seized from the duo's possession, he said. In all, cocaine weighing nearly 7 kg and valued at around Rs 30 crore was seized by the drug law enforcement agency, the official said. Investigations have revealed the arrested accused were part of a syndicate being managed by Nigerian drug traffickers, he said.
The woman arrested from Delhi is the wife of one of the kingpins operating the drug syndicate from Delhi. He was allegedly using his wife, a mother of three, as a local carrier to facilitate the transshipment of cocaine from 'drug mules' (transporters of narcotics) at Mumbai to his Delhi residence, he said. The contraband was to be delivered to other kingpins in Delhi and further distributed to other parts of the country, the official said.
The drug mules were being paid handsomely for their sponsored trips to carry the consignments (about USD 1,000 to USD 1,200 per kg) depending on the risk involved, the official said. It was also found that these syndicate members were using social media platforms and virtual numbers for communicating with each other, he said. The syndicate handlers used to pass on directions to these mules either directly or via designated members to avoid being tracked, the official said.
According to the NCB, drug traffickers were using citizens of African countries as carriers and switching airports based on security measures taken by law enforcement agencies. The entire trip of drug carriers was sponsored by handlers controlling the syndicate from African countries. All the drug carriers arrested in the two operations were first-time travellers to India, the official said.
During preliminary investigation, it was found the syndicate had a meeting with a group of eight to 10 drug carriers in Ethiopia and the main handler had assigned roles and tasks to each of them to transport consignment in India, he said. Some of the active syndicate members and carriers landed in different cities in India and delivered their consignments to their counterparts, he added.
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