NCB seizes 3,056 ecstasy pills smuggled to Mumbai from Belgium in soft toy parcel

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai busted an international drug racket and seized 3,056 tablets of methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy. The high-quality part drug was illegally trafficked from Belgium to Mumbai by concealing them in false cavities of parcel cartons of soft toys.

The MDMA drug, commonly known as ecstasy was hidden in a courier box.(HT Photo)

NCB investigations have also revealed that the ecstasy was meant to be sold for drug parties in Mumbai. A couple has also been arrested by NCB in connection with the drug racket. The Central anti-narcotics agency said that this is the largest seizure of ecstasy by NCB.

According to NCB officers, acting on specific inputs, the Mumbai zonal unit, under the supervision of zonal director Ugam Dan Charan, on August 10 seized a total of 3,010 of MDMA pills, weighing around 969 grams, from a parcel containing soft toys at DHL Express India (P) Ltd, Goregaon (West).

Further probe revealed that the drugs were sourced from Belgium. Unlike previous traditional methods in which drugs are hidden inside soft toys, this time the smugglers concealed them inside a false cavity in the cardboard box containing the consignment.

During the investigation, the NCB team arrested a couple from Navi Mumbai and recovered 46 tablets (17.5 grams) of MDMA from their residence. H Choudhary and R Batharey had sourced the drug from Brussels, Belgium. They were arrested under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. They were remanded in judicial custody by a Mumbai court.

“The ecstasy pills which were in different colours – orange, pink and green – were meant for supply in the party circuits of Mumbai,” said an NCB officer.

Deputy director (operations) of NCB, KPS Malhotra said that the agency suspects links of Central European drug traffickers in the racket. “The seized drug is of high quality and it was meant for drug parties. From the findings of the investigation so far, we believe that the racket was using crypto-currency to fund the transfers,” Malhotra said.

“The arrested couple would send the drugs to party organisers in India. We investigated the links of this case to the wider syndicate trafficking supply of party drugs into India,” he added.

In a statement, NCB said that as per United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2020, ecstasy continues to be manufactured primarily in Europe, most notably in Western and Central Europe. Europe accounts for two-thirds of the ecstasy laboratories dismantled worldwide.

“The total quantity of ecstasy seized worldwide has doubled over the period 2009-2018. This is also reflected in the rapidly increasing popularity of such synthetic drugs in India,” NCB stated.