Rs 1,439-crore heroin seized from Gujarat port

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 25

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) today said it seized 205.6 kg heroin worth Rs 1,439 crore from a container near Kandla Port in Gujarat and arrested an importer from Punjab in that connection after an extensive search operation it jointly conducted with the Gujarat ATS.

According to DRI officials, the contraband was found in one of the 17 containers that arrived at the port from Iran between September and October last year.

On April 21, the Gujarat anti-terrorist squad (ATS) had announced that the DRI, in a joint operation with it, seized over 200 kg heroin worth Rs 1,300 crore after conducting a raid at a container station near Kandla Port in Kutch district of the state.

On Monday, the DRI in a press note said, “Based on intelligence developed jointly with officers of the Gujarat ATS, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence are currently examining a consignment, imported by an Uttarakhand-based firm at Kandla Port.”

The consignment arrived at the port from Bandar Abbas Port in Iran. The consignment, imported in 17 containers having 10,318 bags, had a gross weight of 394 tonne and was declared as “gypsum powder”, it said in the statement.

“So far, 205.6 kg heroin, valued at Rs 1,439 crore in the illicit market, has been seized,” the DRI said.

“The importer was not found at the registered address in Uttarakhand. Accordingly, a manhunt was launched across the country to nab the importer,” said the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence .

Importer held from Amritsar

• The contraband was found in one of the 17 containers that arrived from Iran between September and October last year
• The importer, whose identity is yet to be disclosed, was arrested from a village in Punjab’s Amritsar district

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