Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct.12: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is conducting raids at five locations in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Tuesday in connection with the 3,000 kg of Afghan heroin seized from Mundra Port last month. The drug haul, believed to be worth Rs 21,000 crore by agencies, was the largest ever seized by Indian authorities. The package, which was transferred to India from Kandahar after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, is being investigated for a possible narco-terror link.
The shipment was captured on September 14 and 15 by the Directorate of Revenue and Intelligence (DRI) based on specific intelligence that high-quality heroin was being trafficked in two containers from Afghanistan to Gujarat’s Mundra port via Iran’s Bandar Abbas port. The heroin was sandwiched between the talc in the two containers, weighing 1,999.58 kg and 988.64 kg, respectively, to escape detection by security and customs officers. About September 20, HT was the first to report on the seizure.
At least eight people have been arrested by the DRI so far, including a Chennai couple, Govindaraju Durga Purna Vaishali and Machavaram Sudhakar, who allegedly imported heroin concealed in semi-processed talc stones through their Vijaywada registered firm (Aashi Trading Company) from a Kandahar-based company, four Afghan nationals, and an Uzbek woman.
Last Thursday, the ministry of home affairs handed the matter over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to look into the Taliban-Pakistan connection.
According to the officials indicated above, several of those raided on Tuesday have ties to Afghanistan.
Vaishali and Sudhakar are said to be minor players, having received just a ten-to-twelve-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand According to an officer, the consignment is believed to be the work of a bigger network of Afghan nationals.
According to UN estimates, Afghanistan has between 800 and 900 mid- and high-level drug traffickers/syndicates. Many have full-fledged laboratories for processing opium poppy into high-quality heroin.
Along with Helmand, Badghis, Uruzgan, and Faryab, Kandahar is one of the provinces where the country’s largest opium poppy growing takes place.
According to UN data, Afghanistan’s potential opium production in 2020 is expected to be 6,300 tonnes, with an average opium yield of 28.0 kilos per hectare. Over 85% of the world’s opium is produced in this country.
In 2020, the total area under opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan was estimated to be 224,000 hectares, up 37 percent or 61,000 hectares from the previous year.
