Guj ATS, DRI seize heroin worth Rs 198 crore hidden in gear boxes from scrap container near Kolkata port

PTI, Sep 9, 2022, 7:44 PM IST

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Ahmedabad: A joint team of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 39.5 kilograms of heroin worth Rs 197.82 crore from a container near the Kolkata port in West Bengal, an official said on Friday.

The contraband was found concealed inside 12 gearboxes which were part of 7,220 kilograms of metal scrap sent from Jebel Ali Port in Dubai in a shipping container and it had reached Kolkata port in February, said Gujarat Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia in Gandhinagar.

”Based on a specific tip-off received by Gujarat ATS, a joint team comprising officials from ATS and DRI raided a Container Freight Station near Kolkata port a few days ago and zeroed in on a container which had arrived there in February from Dubai,” Bhatia told reporters.

Of 36 gearboxes found in the metal scrap, 12 had markings of white ink, he said, adding that 72 packets of white powder were found when these gearboxes were opened. ”A forensic analysis confirmed that the packets contained 39.5 kg of heroin worth Rs 197.82 crore in the international market. The probe is still on as officials have decided to open the remaining gearboxes as well. The primary probe has revealed the container was meant to be re-exported to some other country from Kolkata,” the DGP informed.

In July this year, Gujarat ATS had seized 75.3 kg of heroin estimated to be worth over Rs 376.5 crore from a container near the Mundra port in the Kutch district. The contraband was concealed inside fabric rolls and had been sent from the United Arab Emirates for further transportation to Punjab.

In May this year, the DRI seized 56 kg of cocaine worth Rs 500 crore from a container near the Mundra port.

In April, the DRI seized 205.6 kg of heroin worth Rs 1,439 crore from a container near the Kandla port in Kutch.

Around the same time, a joint operation of the Gujarat ATS and DRI led to the recovery of 90 kilograms of heroin worth Rs 450 crore from a shipping container that had arrived at Pipavav port in Amreli district from Iran.

The DRI had in September last year seized nearly 3,000 kg of heroin worth Rs 21,000 crore in the global market, believed to have originated in Afghanistan, from two containers at the Mundra port.