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Mumbai drug haul: Godown and house of accused searched in Kerala
The DRI had seized 198 kg crystal methamphetamine and 9 kg of high-quality cocaine, with a value of ₹1,476 crore in international market, smuggled from South Africa concealing in imported boxes of oranges from a warehouse in Navi Mumbai. Crystal methamphetamine is a synthetic drug considered to be highly addictive and rare in drug market.
The directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) has raided a warehouse and house of two accused in Kerala’s Kochi and Malappuram districts on Monday in connection with a major drug haul in Mumbai on October 1, officials said on Wednesday.
The DRI had seized 198 kg crystal methamphetamine and 9 kg of high-quality cocaine, with a value of ₹1,476 crore in international market, smuggled from South Africa concealing in imported boxes of oranges from a warehouse in Navi Mumbai. Crystal methamphetamine is a synthetic drug considered to be highly addictive and rare in drug market.
After the seizure, the DRI had arrested managing director of Yumito International Food Private Limited Vijin Varghese, a native of Kalady near Kochi, from Vashi (Mumbai) and on the lookout for T Mansoor, a native of Malappuram, who is reported to be in South Africa.
DRI officials have raided a warehouse of Yumito in Kochi and seized many documents and questioned relatives of arrested Varghese, the officials said.
They also raided the house T Mansoor in Malappuram. “A group of officials came to my house on Monday and told me about the seizure. I told them to check wherever they want and they searched till afternoon and they did not take any material from here,” said Mansoor’s father TP Moyideen.
He said his son was into fruit import for more than a decade and never got into any trouble. He said Mansoor was in Kerala for two months and he left the country two weeks back and the consignments were sent from South Africa when he was not in South Africa. “We were told DRI officials are in touch with him. We feel he was trapped. Let truth come out and we are ready for any probe,” he said.
DRI officials suspect that drugs were smuggled from South Africa among highly popular Valencia orange to avoid detection and it was going on for some time. The DRI reportedly checked the consignment after a tip off from international probe agencies.
