NIA seizes drug smuggler’s house in Muzaffarnagar

NIA seizes house of drug smuggler Razi Haider Zaidi in Muzaffarnagar worth ₹40 lakh. Zaidi's name came up in a drug smuggling case in October 2022.

MEERUT A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized the house of a drug smuggler, Razi Haider Zaidi, on Tuesday evening in the Khalapar area of Muzaffarnagar. The house is worth ₹40 lakh.

A five-member team of the security agency, along with Kotwali police, reached Zaidi’s house on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

A five-member team of the security agency, along with Kotwali police, reached Zaidi’s house on Tuesday evening. A notice board proclaiming seizure under the NDPS Act was also placed on the wall of the house.

Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Sadar area, Permanand Jha, said that the value of the seized house is in the range of ₹38 to ₹40 lakh. He added that no one was living in the house at the time of seizure.

Zaidi’s name surfaced in the case after a team of ATS Gujrat confiscated drugs from Atari border of Pakistan in October 2022 which was smuggled through the sea route. ATS then raided a house in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi and arrested Zaidi from there.

Later, a team of ATS Gujrat also raided his house in Khalapar and confiscated 210 kg drugs from his neighbour’s house. The name of another smuggler, Abdullah, also surfaced during the NIA investigation.