Delhi Police seize 130kg heroin in Navi Mumbai; total 330kg recovered in 2 weeks

The seized heroin was stuffed in small poly-pouches, which were concealed in double-layered cartons used for importing raisins through Attari-Wagah border (India-Pakistan) in trucks by a legal export company based in Afghanistan’s Kandahar.

Delhi Police’s special cell has recovered 130kg of heroin from a container in Navi Mumbai taking the total recovery of the drug to 330kg in the last fortnight during their ongoing operations, officials said.

Delhi Police’s special cell has recovered 130kg of heroin from a container in Navi Mumbai. (Burhaan Kinu /HT File Photo)

Manishi Chandra, the deputy commissioner of police (special cell), pegged the worth of the latest seizure at Rs 520 crore and that of the total seizure at Rs 1,320 crore.

“The consignment originated from Herat in Afghanistan and took the sea-route to Mumbai via Bandar Abbas in Iran,” Chandra said.

The heroin was being smuggled into India under the cover of basil seed consignment, the DCP said. He said it was a “rare” busting of a modus operandi in which heroin from landlocked Afghanistan was being smuggled into India through the sea route.

The drugs, Chandra said, were soaked and dried before being packed in 260 jute bags. The seized heroin was stuffed in small poly-pouches, which were concealed in double-layered cartons used for importing raisins through Attari-Wagah border (India-Pakistan) in trucks by a legal export company based in Afghanistan’s Kandahar.

The price of heroin in the international market varies between Rs 40 lakh and Rs 80 lakh per kg, according to various global watchdogs, including bodies linked with the United Nations. The price increases as the drug leaves the source and exchanges hands.