73-year-old man held for smuggling heroin worth ₹35 crore

MUMBAI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials on Monday arrested a 73-year-old man for allegedly smuggling around 5 kg heroin worth nearly ₹35 crore from Malawi

MUMBAI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials on Monday arrested a 73-year-old man for allegedly smuggling around 5 kg heroin worth nearly ₹35 crore from Malawi.

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The anti-smuggling agency had received specific intelligence about the consignment. Based on the information, the DRI officials intercepted air passenger, Damodara Dubey, 73, a resident of Andhra Pradesh, at Mumbai airport. Dubey had arrived from Malawi via Addis Ababa in an Ethiopian flight.

When his trolley bag was examined, three packets containing nearly 5 kg of creamish granules were found. The granules tested positive for heroin in the field-testing kit, sources said.

The DRI’s further probe revealed that Dubey is unmarried and an orphan. Since he is physically unable to take up any work, he kept looking for work online to make a living.

While doing so he was contacted by a person named Edward Hicks via an email informing him that he had won a lottery worth $10.5 million (around ₹87 crore). Hicks asked Dubey to come to Malawi and after signing some documents he could get the money, the DRI sources said.

Hicks, also with the help of his friend, arranged air tickets and hotel accommodation for Dubey.

On March 6, Dubey travelled to Malawi, stayed in a hotel where one Jack met him and got his signatures on a (lottery) document.

Dubey was then told that the lottery money would be deposited in his Indian Bank account and he was handed over return tickets along with $200. Jack also gave a trolley bag to Dubey requesting him to hand it over to his friend in India.

An investigation into the case revealed that drug syndicates, mainly from African countries, targeted senior citizens to work as a ‘carrier’ for smuggling the contraband, using fraud lottery mails or cyber frauds.

Sources said that Dubey has claimed that he was not aware that the bag contained drugs. He claimed that he was defrauded and misused by the drug racket members.

The DRI officials are yet to ascertain if Dubey had knowledge of concealment of drugs inside the trolley bag he was carrying.

“Since, the bag carrying drugs was found from his possession, he has been placed under arrest under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for carrying commercial quantities of heroin. Further investigation is on,” an officer said.