NCB busts international syndicate, seizes cocaine worth ₹200 cr

The Mumbai unit of the NCB has busted a major narcotics trafficking syndicate with international linkages by seizing multiple drugs worth ₹200 crore in the grey market, including 11.54 kilograms of high-grade cocaine. The agency has also arrested four suspected members of the syndicate.

MUMBAI: The Mumbai unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted a major narcotics trafficking syndicate with international linkages by seizing multiple drugs worth ₹200 crore in the grey market, including 11.54 kilograms of high-grade cocaine. The agency has also arrested four suspected members of the syndicate.

Contraband seized by NCB (HT)

On Friday evening, Union home minister Amit Shah appreciated Mumbai NCB unit’s efforts. “A breakthrough in Mumbai in seizing very high-grade cocaine, ganja and cannabis gummies, and arresting four people. It is a testament to the success of the top-to-bottom approach to investigation adopted to make PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s vision for a drug-free India a reality. Congratulations to team @narcoticsbureau on this massive success,” Shah said in his post on X.

Apart from the 11.54 kg of cocaine, the NCB team seized 4.9 kg of hydroponic weed and 200 packets (weighing around 5.5 kilograms) of cannabis gummies. The syndicate had allegedly sourced the seized contraband from the United States of America (USA) through illegal channels, NCB sources said.

The agency seized the contraband from a hideout in Navi Mumbai on January 31. The operation was launched after receiving specific intelligence input that led to the seizure of the 200 grams of cocaine in a parcel recovered from a courier agency. The NCB learnt that it was meant for transport to a receiver in Australia.

“NCB’s Mumbai zonal unit was able to backtrack the supply to the bulk quantity, which was concealed at a location in Navi Mumbai,” an NCB source said.

Use of codewords

The initial probe revealed that the syndicate was being operated by a set of Indian suspects located abroad. While a part of the seized contraband was allegedly sourced by the syndicate from the USA, they were meant for dispatch to multiple receivers in India and abroad through courier/small cargo services and human carriers, the sources said.

NCB’s investigation revealed that the syndicate operated strictly on a need-to-know basis and used code words to escape detection by anti-narcotic enforcement agencies. “The persons involved in this case are strangers to each other and they used pseudo names for day-to-day conversations related to drug dealing,” a source said.

The agency is conducting further probe to nab other accused persons linked to the syndicate, while attempting to identify its backward and forward linkages. The operation was led by Indian Revenue Service officer Amit Ghawate, additional director, Mumbai Zonal Unit of the NCB.