Drugs worth Rs 1,200 crore seized in Delhi

PTI, Sep 7, 2022, 12:22 PM IST

New Delhi: Police have arrested two Afghan nationals from southeast Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj area and seized drugs worth over Rs 1,200 crore from their possession, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused have been identified as Mustafa Stanikzai (23), a native of Kabul, and Rahimullah Rahimi (44), a native of Kandahar, they said.

A total of 312.5 kilograms of Methamphetamine and 10 kilograms of heroin was recovered from them, police said.

On Saturday, information was received that two Afghan nationals coming to Delhi in a car were likely carrying some contraband. A trap was laid and the accused were apprehended from near Kalindi Kunj Metro Station, Meethapur Road, Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal said.

A total of 1.360 kilogram of heroin was recovered from Stanikzai, while another 1.040 kilogram of heroin was recovered from Rahimi, he said.

During questioning, the two revealed about a pick-up vehicle that was carrying contraband. The vehicle was intercepted near SDMC toll, Kalindi Kunj and sixteen bags containing white crystalline material were recovered.

The suspected chemical was checked using the narcotic field testing kit which revealed that nine out of the 16 bags were containing contraband Methamphetamine, police said.

The contraband containing bags, bearing markings of silica, weighed around 311.4 kilograms, they said.

Methamphetamine and silica resemble each other in appearance and it makes almost impossible for a human eye to distinguish between the two. Various other chemicals and a glass container used for refining contraband were also subsequently recovered from the house of Stanikzai, police said.

Rahimi disclosed that more contraband was kept in a car in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. At his instance, 1.09 kg Methamphetamine and 5.31 kg heroin, in both solid and liquid form, and 1.7 Kg heroin coated dry fruits were recovered from the boot of the car, they said.

From the processing labs in Afghanistan, the contraband usually reaches a port of a neighbouring country and gets containerised for various seaport destinations in India, police said.

Wherever reconstitution or purification is required, the contraband after exiting Indian seaports is transported to makeshift factories in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi and Haryana. After the desired purity and strength is achieved, the contraband then gets pushed through a chain of peddlers to the end-consumer, they added.

As per preliminary findings, the syndicate has linkages with an established terrorist network, primarily situated abroad, police said, adding further investigation is on.