Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI) The Mumbai zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Tuesday said it has busted an international drug syndicate with the seizure of 9.8 kilograms of cocaine worth around Rs 100 crore from two women passengers from abroad, which led to the arrest of two more persons.
The two women passengers – one Thai and another Indonesian – were held following their arrival at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here from Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, it said.
A total of 9.829 kgs of cocaine with a market value of approximately Rs 100 crore was seized from the duo at the airport. During the interrogation, the women told the officials that the drugs were to be delivered to a syndicate operating out of Delhi and nearby areas, an official said.
“Accordingly, a DRI team was stationed in Mumbai for surveillance and another team was sent to Delhi to apprehend the other members of the syndicate,” the official said.
The DRI officers laid a trap in Greater Noida with the help of local officers. They identified the mastermind, but he became violent on sensing the trouble and sprinted by pushing the officers with his full might. The DRI team chased and apprehended the Nigerian national and his associate, he said.
The officers as well as the accused got mildly injured during the chase. Subsequently, both these members of the international drug smuggling syndicate along with the two women passengers were placed under arrest by the DRI under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the official said.
As per the probe, the two women passengers had smuggled the contraband to deliver it to the syndicate based in India, with its tentacles spread in Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Nigeria, he said. PTI ZA ARU NP
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