Attari border drug smuggling case: NIA arrests Shamli man

NIA officials said the man was arrested in a major breakthrough in the Attari border narcotics smuggling and seizure case. He was the 7th accused to be arrested in the case pertaining to the recovery and seizure of 102.784 kgs of heroin (narcotics substance), worth ₹700 crore.

LUCKNOW The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested another key accused Tahseem alias Mota, a resident of Shamli in Uttar Pradesh involved in receiving the proceeds of drugs and channelising the same to the foreign-based absconding masterminds.

The officials said Tahseem, a habitual offender, was found to have received multiple cash deposits in his account from Punjab. (Pic for representation)

In a press note shared with media, the NIA officials said the man was arrested in a major breakthrough in the Attari border narcotics smuggling and seizure case. He was the 7th accused to be arrested in the case pertaining to the recovery and seizure of 102.784 kgs of heroin (narcotics substance), worth ₹700 crore.

The press note further reads that the drugs were seized by Indian Customs Department on two occasions in April 2022, after they were smuggled into India from Afghanistan through ICP Attari, Amritsar. The drugs were concealed in a consignment of licorice roots (mulethi).

The officials said Tahseem, a habitual offender, was found to have received multiple cash deposits in his account from Punjab. They said financial investigations and examination of several associates of the accused persons by NIA revealed that the funds received by Tahseem were proceeds of drugs sales.He was also the key operative in the larger conspiracy hatched by the international drug cartel to circulate drugs to various distributors in India.

On December 16, 2022, the NIA had chargesheeted four persons, namely Shahid Ahmed aka Qazi Abdul Wadood, Nazir Ahmed Qani, Razi Haider Zaidi and Vipin Mittal in the case. Shahid Ahmed and Nazir Ahmed Qani are currently absconding. Razi Haider and Vipin Mittal were arrested earlier in the case, followed by the arrest of another accused, Amritpal Singh, who was caught on December 15, 2023, while trying to flee the country. Proceeds of narcotics amounting to ₹1.34 crore were recovered from Amritpal Singh and frozen under relevant legal provisions.

The NIA said further investigations were on in the case.