The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday seized 25 kg of party drug methamphetamine worth Rs 50 crore in the international market from a suspended inspector of the Punjab police.
A silver medal winner in wrestling at the 1994 Asian Games, Jagdish Singh got the Arjuna award, which recognises sporting excellence, in 1998.
Singh was caught red-handed around 9 pm as he handed over the drug to a Veer Bahadur Singh on the Western Express Highway, near the Oberoi mall in Goregaon. Both men have been arrested.
Methamphetamine is a stimulant popular in many western counties and parts of South-East Asia.
Officials said Singh had brought the drug into the city from Chandigarh. The drug, which costs Rs two crore per kg in the international market, is valued around Rs 50 lakh a kg in the local market. The cost difference makes the export of the party drug an attractive proposition.
“Singh had packed the drug in one kg pouches and it was all in a hand bag,” said an NCB official, requesting anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}“Singh had packed the drug in one kg pouches and it was all in a hand bag,” said an NCB official, requesting anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}The NCB is now investigating whom the drug was meant for and where it was to go. “We have got information that it was meant for some foreign country,” the official said. “We are also looking into how Singh got the drug in Chandigarh and whether he is part of a bigger network.”
Officials said the Punjab police suspended Singh as he was suspected of being involved in a similar trafficking offence earlier.