New Delhi: In a massive haul, the Delhi and Gujarat police seized 518 kilograms of cocaine, valued at Rs. 5,000 crore, during a raid on a Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company Sunday, sources told ThePrint. This comes on the heels of another seizure of 562 kilograms of high-quality cocaine and 40 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana from a Mahipalpur godown earlier this month by the Delhi Police Special Cell.
According to sources in the Special Cell, 1,289 kilograms of premium quality cocaine, worth Rs 13,000 crore, have been seized in hauls based on intelligence inputs and investigations over the past three months. These drugs were reportedly smuggled into the country in anticipation of the festive season and the upcoming series of big concerts, it is learnt.
A Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company is at the epicentre of the ₹5,000 crore drug bust. Sources in the Delhi Police have told The Print that this company was involved in refining the raw contraband that had been smuggled into India, raising serious concerns about its operations and involvement in drug trafficking.
So far, 12 individuals have been arrested in connection with the case, including Tushar Goyal, a South Delhi-based businessman. Sources said that both the staff and owners of the company are currently being questioned as part of the ongoing investigation.
Goyal and his London-based associates, Jatinder Pal Singh Gill and two others, who allegedly aided the transportation of contraband, were also arrested.
“Investigation revealed that the drugs were being refined by a pharmaceutical services company based in Ankleshwar, Gujarat. The drugs were first received in Goa and then refined in a factory owned by the pharmaceutical company,” a source in Delhi Police told ThePrint.
Another Delhi Police source said that the company had opened a fake subsidiary for refining and sending the contraband, along with other medicines.
According to investigators, the drugs were sent in large consignments to Uttar Pradesh and then transported to Delhi, where Goyal and others were responsible for storing the consignment and finding potential buyers.
On 1 October, the Special Cell had raided a warehouse in Mahipalpur, belonging to Goyal, where they had uncovered a massive consignment of 562 kilograms of cocaine and 40 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana.
Further investigations on 10 October led to the seizure of an additional 208 kilograms of cocaine from a shop in Delhi’s Ramesh Nagar. Authorities have traced the drugs to Pharma Solution Services, a company now at the centre of the controversy, with links to a pharmaceutical firm in Ankleshwar, Gujarat.
This Gujarat-based company, according to its website, is classified as a non-government company. It was established on 23 September, 2016, and is registered with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) in Ahmedabad. It has an authorised share capital of Rs 2,50,00,000 and a paid-up capital of Rs 2,02,00,000, and is involved in the manufacture of chemical products.
According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the company last filed its balance sheet on 31 March, 2023, although the date of its most recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) remains unavailable. The company’s directors include Ashwin Keshubhai Ramani, Brijesh Kothia and Vijay Keshavlal Bhesania.
Previous reports by ThePrint revealed that the drugs were cultivated in South America and transported via a Panama port to Dubai, before they arrived on the shores of Goa around 15 September. From there, the consignment was sent by land to Ghaziabad and reached Delhi between 20 and 25 September via National Highway 58.
A Dubai-based handler, according to sources, had instructed two suspects to scout the routes before the drugs were shipped as cargo. ThePrint had reported that a Dubai-based conspirator was working with this handler to smuggle and distribute the drugs across Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat and other locations. The drugs were discovered in a Mahipalpur Extension warehouse, typically used for storing books, as Goyal’s family owns two publishing houses.
Investigators had also told ThePrint that Goyal and the Dubai-based handler had known each other for nearly two decades after they met in Tihar Jail through a common acquaintance.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)