Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — The Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) has seized 70 kg heroin worth more than Rs 375 crore from the container freight station at Mundra port. It was following a tip-off from the Punjab Police that the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Tuesday seized the drugs, according to media reports.
This shows that despite the claims of the State Police, the number of drug consignments arriving in the country through Gujarat has not seen any decline ever since the massive drug haul at Mundra port last year.
According to IANS report, Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) Ashish Bhatia said in a media briefing, “There was specific intelligence input that few containers imported from Dubai carrying ‘clothes’ were lying at the Mundra container freight station for some time. Since India is a leading textile exporter, the police got suspicious as to why should somebody import clothes in large quantity from Dubai. On inspection, the ATS personnel unearthed the large quantity of drugs from the containers.”
The containers were reportedly meant to be taken to Punjab.
The officer said the investigating team is on the lookout for the persons who booked the containers and made the payment.
The Punjab DGP took to Twitter to share the information about the major seizure. He said: “An input regarding #Heroin having been concealed in container of unstitched clothes at Mundra Port was shared by @PunjabPolicelnd with Gujarat ATS which led to recovery of 75 Kg heroin in a joint operation. Consignment booked by Punjab-based importer. Further investigations on’’.
He also said that this consignment was supposed to reach Punjab and supplied to different places from here, stating that the case was being thoroughly investigated into.
Official sources indicated that the consignment reached Mundra port from Dubai but the investigations indicated that it might have actually originated in Afghanistan, reports The Free Press Journal.
The consignment was reportedly parked at a facility of port, along with other temporary deliveries kept there for customs clearance.Â
It was just over two months that the ATS in April, jointly with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had seized heroin worth Rs 1,300 crore from Kandla port.
Similarly, in what was stated to be the world’s biggest heroin seizure from the same Mundra port last year, the agencies confiscated drugs worth Rs 21,000 crore.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which was jointly investigating the cases of consignments moved from Mundra port last year, is also handling this matter, according to reports.
