The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had laid a trap at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on a tip-off that a passenger travelling from Malawi, an African country, was trying to smuggle narcotic drugs into India
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 16 kilograms of heroin worth more than ₹100 crore at the Mumbai Airport, and arrested a passenger and a woman from Ghana in this connection, an official said on Thursday.
The Ghanaian woman was nabbed from a hotel in Delhi as part of the DRI’s follow-up action in the case, he said.
The Mumbai unit of the DRI had laid a trap on Tuesday at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on a specific tip-off that a passenger travelling from Malawi, an African country, to Mumbai via Qatar was trying to smuggle narcotic drugs into the country, he said.
“As part of the trap, a surveillance and tracking team of DRI officers was positioned at the airport and intercepted a suspected passenger,” he said.During the search of his luggage, the DRI officers found 16 kg heroin that was concealed in cavities made in the trolley bags, the official added.
The value of the seized heroin is more than ₹100 crore in the international market, he said, adding that the passenger was placed under arrest and was remanded in the DRI custody by the local court.
“In a follow-up action, the DRI officers apprehended a woman from Ghana, who was to take the delivery of the smuggled contraband in Delhi,” he said.
“The female Ghanaian national was nabbed from a hotel in Delhi when she came to take the delivery of the drug,” the official said.The accused was identified as Khanyisile Promise Khalishwayo. Besides the banned drug, 10,000 South African rands in cash were also recovered from her.
Khanyisile who has been involved in drug-peddling for the last 4 years and was operating in South Africa and the Middle East area came to India for the first time. She was to get 20,000 rands (equivalent to Rs.one lakh) for the present assignment. NCB officials are probing to whom she was to deliver the consignment.
Based on specific intelligence inputs, the NCB laid a trap at the passenger arrival area of the airport in the early hours of Thursday. During the operation, Khanyisile, who travelled from Johannesburg to Mumbai via Doha by Qatar Airways flight (No. QR 0556), was caught.
After intercepting her on arrival, the NCB team, led by Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, searched her grey-coloured trolley-bag and found that a cavity was created inside it. During the search of her bag, two packets of heroin were found concealed in the cavity of her bag, while one more packet was found concealed in the bag itself. The total weight of the three packets containing heroin was 2.960 kg.
She was booked under section 8(c) and 21 (c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS)She has been arrested and being brought to Mumbai on transit remand granted by a court in Delhi, he said, adding that investigation into the case is underway.
Heroin
Heroin (Die-Acetyl Morphine) is an opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance in the seed pod of the poppy plant. It can be mixed with water and injected with a needle. Heroin can also be smoked or snorted up the nose. All of these ways of taking heroin to send it to the brain very quickly.
This makes it very addictive. Major health problems from heroin include miscarriages, heart infections, and death from overdose. People who inject the drug, also risk getting infectious diseases, including
HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.
In a similar seizure last week, two women from Uganda and a Nigerian were arrested with eight kilograms of Heroin and one kg of cocaine by the Delhi Zonal Unit of NCB thus busting an international drug-smuggling ring at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.,
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials arrested two women drug peddlers from Uganda and Zambia and seized 12 kg of heroin worth ₹78 crore from their possession in the last two days.
Further, in the little hours of Sunday, the officials intercepted a Zambian woman passenger who flew from Zambia via Johannesburg and Doha. “Detailed examination of her baggage resulted in recovery of off-white powder from beneath the pipe rolls, which was brought in the baggage. The substance tested positive for heroin,” the officials said. She was identified as Makumba Carol and was carrying eight kg of heroin.
