Begin typing your search...
Chennai emerges as transit hub for drugs
Chennai airport is emerging a transit hub of psychotropic drug smuggling in south India with frequent seizures of Pseudo Ephedrine by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). NCB seized a big consignment of Pseudo Ephedrine bound for Johannesburg in South Africa on Friday, the second case within a week.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
The NCB Chennai unit intercepted a person named Johannes Daniel Haskins, a South African national at the Anna international airport and seized the contraband. The traveller had boarded the flight from Delhi and was bound for Johannesburg via Chennai.
On Monday, two persons were nabbed and 14.9 kg of Pseudo Ephedrine was seized from them at the Chennai airport. The consignment concealed in fake tea packets were about to be smuggled to Malaysia.
The NCB officials arrested two persons -Rahman Usman Bhai and Usman Bhai Hameed Shah. The sleuths intercepted these passengers after getting specific intelligence regarding smuggling of the substance, the sale and possession of which is controlled by the Drug Control General of India.
The seized contraband is worth around Rs.1 crore. NCB has launched an investigation to find the connection between the smugglers and the Malaysian drug cartel, an NCB press release said.
NCB sources said that a few years ago it was ketamine that ruled the outbound drug cargo from Chennai but now pseudo Ephedrine, which is a key ingredient in the making of a party drug Methamphetamine, is gradually taking its place.
Ephedrine is a popular ecstasy drug in South East Asia. “The current trend is the smuggling of Pseudo Ephedrine and we are trying to find out the source of this drug,” an NCB senior official told DTNext.
Ephedrine smugglers shifted their transit hub to Chennai from north Indian airports as the NCB has increased the vigilance there. The NCB had seized 49,000 kg of Ephedrine which was smuggled out of India in 2016.
Officials say that the source of Pseudo Ephedrine to Chennai is under investigation as the person held for smuggling the contraband was a South African national.
“We are investigating the role of international drug cartel behind the smuggling of psychotropic drugs from South India. We believe that there are several local agents who are involved in this business,” the NCB official said.
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android
Next Story
