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Psychotropic drug worth Rs 4 crore seized from Turkish national at Delhi airport
Turkish national was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in Delhi by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel Monday afternoon for allegedly trying to smuggle Tramadol tablets
New Delhi: A Turkish national was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in Delhi by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel Monday afternoon for allegedly trying to smuggle Tramadol tablets worth over Rs 4 crore out of the country. The man was handed over to officers from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). The Intelligence Bureau (IB) was also roped in, officials said.
Tramadol, a painkiller, was declared a “psychotropic substance” by the Union government in April this year to monitor its sale in the country.
Surveillance and intelligence staff of the CISF, while performing surveillance duty at the check-in area of Terminal 3, spotted suspicious activities by a foreign passenger around 2:30pm at the airport.
“Our officers approached him. He was identified as one Erbil Han, a Turkish national. His travel documents revealed that he had arrived to board a Turkish Airlines flight TK-717, to Istanbul. A quick check of his records revealed that in April this year, Han had been apprehended for entering the terminal building by using a fake ticket after which he had been handed over to the Delhi Police,” a spokesperson for the CISF said.
On suspicion, Han was asked to cooperate for a detailed checking of his baggage. “His bags were scanned through an X-Ray machine and some suspicious images were noticed. On opening the bag, about 1,30,000 Tramadol tablets weighing about 64kg were found. The NCB and IB officials were informed about the recovery. The NCB officials arrived at the airport and confirmed the tablets as contraband. Han as well as the tablets were handed over to them,” the spokesperson said.
NCB officials said that there are reports that this drug is being used by terror organisations across globe.
Madhav Singh, zonal director, NCB said that Tramadol is a painkiller which is also used as an opioid. “It has been reported repeatedly that large consignments of this drug are transported out of the country illegally. It was also learnt that is being used abroad as a narcotic substance. This is why we got it subdued into the category of psychotropic substances to bring its export and import under regulation,” Singh said.
The drug is illegally sold in West Asian countries, costing as much as five US dollars per tablet, the CISF said in a statement.
