E-Paper
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence seizes heroin worth ₹125 cr at Navi Mumbai
Mumbai zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which seized about 25 kilograms of heroin worth ₹125 crore at the Nhava Sheva port in Navi Mumbai, suspects the consignment was part of a larger international narcotics trafficking, officials said
Mumbai zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which seized about 25 kilograms of heroin worth ₹125 crore at the Nhava Sheva port in Navi Mumbai, suspects the consignment was part of a larger international narcotics trafficking, officials said.
The drug consignment was concealed in the boxes of groundnut oil and was being smuggled from Iran to India in a container, people familiar with the matter in the agency said.
The agency officials found out that the shipment was imported by a small-time businessman named Sandeep Thakkar from Masjid Bunder area. When interrogated, Thakkar told DRI sleuths that he has given his firm’s Import Export Code to another businessman, Jayesh Sanghvi, from Navi Mumbai who offered to give him 10,000 Rials on every import order from Iran.
Thakkar claimed that he has been doing business with Sanghvi for over a decade, hence he trusted him and claimed that he did not have any idea that the container had a narcotics consignment.
On the basis of information provided by Thakkar, DRI officials arrested Sanghvi from Navi Mumbai on Wednesday. He has been booked under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and was remanded to DRI custody till October 11 by a local court.
People at the DRI said that Sanghvi could be part of a larger syndicate and was entrusted with the responsibility of smuggling the drugs in India via sea route. After reaching Navi Mumbai port, the next chain of the racket was supposed to take the consignment to its destination via road.
DRI Mumbai officers refused to share details of the operations as the agency is likely to make more arrests in the case.
