E-Paper
‘No linkage between privatisation of airport, seaport and large scale drug smuggling’: Govt
The Union home ministry in Parliament on Tuesday said there is no specific data or study to prove any linkage between the privatisation of airports, seaports and the increase in large scale smuggling of drugs
The Union home ministry in Parliament on Tuesday said there is no specific data or study to prove any linkage between the privatisation of airports, seaports and the increase in large scale smuggling of drugs.
The government denied any linkage in response to Congress MP Anto Anthony’s question in Lok Sabha. Anthony sought whether the privatization of ports and airports has caused an increase in the large-scale smuggling of drugs. The government’s response is significant in light of the September seizure of almost 3,000 kg of heroin at Mundra port in Gujarat which is run by the Adani group. The opposition had alleged that the government wasn’t doing enough to probe how the drug haul from Afghanistan made its way into India.
When asked specifically about the September incident, the Ministry said that 2990.97 kg of heroin worth ₹21,000 crore was seized in Gujarat in two cases till September 2021 as compared to none in 2020. It added that the National Investigation Agency was investigating the matter.
The ministry did not provide an answer when asked about the details of the sender and receiver of the seized drugs.
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), an enforcement agency under the Union Finance Ministry, had seized a total of 2,988.21 kg Afghan heroin from two containers at the Mundra port around September 15. The port is run by Adani Ports and SEZ (APSEZ), the ports business under the Gautam Adani-run conglomerate.
The Adani Group had issued a clarification saying that it is only a port operator and does not have the authority to check shipments arriving at the port.
Five people including a Chennai based couple – Govindaraju Durga Purna Vaishali and her husband Machavaram Sudhakar, two Afghan nationals and another Indian citizen have already been arrested by the DRI in the case.
The consignment, originating from Afghanistan, now under Taliban rule, was shipped to Gujarat on September 13-14 via Iran’s Bandar Abbas Port and was hidden inside the containers of semi-processed Afghan talc, imported by a firm – Ashi Trading Company - based in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada.
