Delhi: Four held with 12 kg heroin worth ₹48 crore

New Delhi: Delhi police on Friday said they seized 12 kilograms of heroin allegedly from four members of an interstate drug syndicate who were arrested in two back-to-back operations carried out on Thursday in west and north Delhi

New Delhi: Delhi police on Friday said they seized 12 kilograms of heroin allegedly from four members of an interstate drug syndicate who were arrested in two back-to-back operations carried out on Thursday in west and north Delhi.

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Police said two of the arrested drug peddlers are from Manipur, while the others are from Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly and Delhi’s Rajapuri.

“Their interrogation has once again highlighted the fact that the Golden Triangle -- Lhasa, Thailand and Myanmar -- is emerging as a major suppliers. This route is being used to pump heroin into northeastern states of India from Afghanistan. From there, the heroin is smuggled to Bareilly and further trafficked to Delhi-NCR,” said deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav.

DCP Yadav said that the special cell sleuths were working on interstate gangs that were using these routes to supply heroin to north India, especially Delhi-NCR. It was learnt that the key suppliers based in Manipur also collected raw materials from two sources – hilly areas along the international border of Manipur and Myanmar, and militancy-affected areas of Manipur such as Saikul and Thobal, where opium is illegally cultivated. Thereafter, the raw materials are processed into pure heroin and transported to Barielly, from where they are moved to other parts of the country, he said.

“One such syndicate was led by Mohammad Abdul Razzak from Manipur. We identified some members of his syndicate and mounted surveillance on their activities,” said Yadav.

Around 9am on Thursday, the DCP said the team arrested Razzak’s associate, Shahnawaz Hussain, from Manipur and his Delhi counterpart Sachin from Rajapuri, and allegedly recovered 10 kilograms of heroin from them.

Their interrogation led to the arrest of Razzak and Mohammad Idrish, a resident of Bareilly, from near Kotwali, where they had come to deliver heroin to their contact. The two allegedly had one kilo of heroin each.

“A total of 12 kilograms of heroin worth ₹48 crore in the international market were seized from the arrested men,” said DCP Yadav.

Police said Razzak’s interrogation revealed that he had established links with drug suppliers in Myanmar, illegal producers of opium in Manipur and drug peddlers active in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. He allegedly received big consignments of crude heroin from Myanmar through porous borders, processed it into fine quality contraband and supplied them to drug peddlers in UP and Delhi.

“Razzak used to travel to UP and Delhi via air to meet his clients. Thereafter, he sent the consignments of heroin from Manipur through carriers. His carriers travel in private cars, trucks and even in public transports like buses and trains. He used to receive money for the drugs through hawala channels,” added the DCP.

Police said Hussain, who was a truck driver who allegedly used to carry the drugs, had made a secret cavity beneath the footrest of his truck to hide packets of heroin inside.

Idrish and Sachin allegedly received the consignments from Razzak in UP and Delhi.