Accused in ₹21,000 crore Mundra port drugs case escapes from police custody

In 2021, 2,988 kilograms of heroin was seized in Gujarat's Mundra port.

Published on: Feb 18, 2024, 20:11:21 IST

By HT News Desk

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Amritsar: Jobanjit Singh Sandhu, one of the accused in the Mundra port drugs haul case, has escaped from the police's custody in Punjab. He gave the police a slip after he was taken from Kutch to Amritsar to be produced in a court in connection with a separate case.

Initial probe into the seizure of the largest ever single cache of Afghan heroin from Mundra port had revealed that a couple whose import firm received the drugs in the garb of talc powder received a commission of ₹10-12 lakh. (Reuters)

Kutch (West) Superintendent of Police Mahendra Bagadiya told PTI that Sandhu was lodged in Bhuj jail in Kutch. He was produced in an Amritsar court. He escaped police custody while returning to Kutch.

The police have launched a massive search operation.

"He was being brought back from Amritsar when he managed to escape from the clutches of the Gujarat police. A search operation has been launched with the help of local police, and efforts are on to capture him," the official said.

Also read: In new charge sheet, NIA names 9, including 4 Afghans, in Mundra drug haul case

What is the Mundra case?

In 2021, 2,988 kilograms of heroin was seized in Gujarat's Mundra port. The estimated value of the drugs was a whopping ₹21000 crore.

'The authorities had intercepted the drug consignment while being imported by a trading company registered in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. The company had said they were importing semi-processed talc stones.

The investigation revealed that the drugs were produced in Afghanistan and brought to the Mundra port via Iran's Bandar Abbas Port. The agencies raided several premises in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chennai, Gandhidham and Mandvi in Gujarat.

Several people, including the owners of the trading company, M Sudhakar and his wife G Durga Purna Vaishali, were arrested.

Seven firms and 42 people have been booked under the case.

With inputs from PTI

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