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2 arrested by Navi Mumbai police in ₹362Cr drug haul that has links to Afghanistan, Dubai
Investigations by Navi Mumbai crime branch into the ₹362Cr drug haul has revealed that the drugs were found have links to Afghanistan and Dubai; police found that the shipping container was in Afghanistan for seven months before it went to Dubai and the came to Navi Mumbai; two accused have been arrested and more are wanted
Investigations by Navi Mumbai crime branch into the ₹362Cr drug haul has revealed that the drugs were found to have links to Afghanistan and Dubai.
The police found that the shipping container was in Afghanistan for seven months before it went to Dubai and then came to Navi Mumbai. The police suspect that the drugs would have been hidden inside the door frame in Afghanistan itself. Two accused have been arrested in the case and more are wanted.
The drug consignment hidden in the metal frame of a shipping container was seized on July 14 by Navi Mumbai Police from a logistics firm in Ajivali, Panvel.
According to sources in the crime branch, the container was purchased by a company in Dubai in April 2021, after which it was sold to another company in Afghanistan in the same month. The container stayed in Afghanistan till November before it was again sold to a Dubai company and then sent to JNPT, Navi Mumbai.
“When we checked the trail of the container, we realised that it stayed in Afghanistan for a longer period, hence we assume that the camouflaging of the container by opening up the joints of the door frame, filling it with the drugs and then welding it back to make it look normal were all done there,” the source said.
The container reached Navi Mumbai in December 2021 and since then it has been there. The container that had drugs hidden in the door frame was carrying marbles. In the investigations, police found that it was ordered by a businessman in Delhi.
“We nabbed two accused after seizing the drugs and more accused are wanted,” Shailesh Pasalwar, Assistant Commissioner of Police from Anti-Narcotics Cell of Navi Mumbai, said. The accused arrested are Harsimran Sethi (37) from Delhi, who ordered the consignment, and his aide, Mahendra Singh Rathod (40) from Mundra, who worked as a clearing agent.
According to police, Sethi has claimed his documents have been misused but police have learnt that one of the wanted accused in the case was known to Sethi and the duo has dealt in 55 consignments earlier. Sethi, who usually imports only rock salt and dry dates, had for the first time dealt in marble import, said police.