Rs. 15 crore drug haul at Delhi’s IGI airport

In one of the biggest drug hauls at the Delhi airport, customs department officials seized 5kg cocaine and 12kg ketamine packed in four different consignments from the cargo terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Tuesday.

In one of the biggest drug hauls at the Delhi airport, customs department officials seized 5kg cocaine and 12kg ketamine packed in four different consignments from the cargo terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Tuesday.

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Sources said the confiscated drugs are worth over Rs. 15 crore and were packed in packets of chips to avoid detection.

“The consignment was booked by a Ghaziabad resident and was to go to the United States from a cargo flight. While scanning the cartons, we found something suspicious and decided to open them. The drugs in powder form were packed inside packets of chips. It was a huge exercise. The drug was tested and we found that 5 kg were cocaine while 12 kgs were ketamine, a party drug,” a senior customs official said.

A team has been sent to Ghaziabad to look for the person in name the consignment was booked. Sources said after strict action by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and customs department at the passenger terminal, traffickers have started taking the cargo route to smuggle drugs out of the country.

On February 1 this year, 10 kgs of drugs, which was to be sent to Afghanistan and London, were seized from the cargo terminal. Sources said the drugs were packed in flower pots and the consignment was sent from four different parts of the country. The drugs were tested and 9 kgs of hashish and 1 kg heroin were seized from four different consignments.

Customs officials said drugs in power form is prepared in factories in Delhi. In African countries, it is used in capsule or tablet form in parties.