DRI seizes Rs2K cr narcotics at Tuticorin port

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 21

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) today said its personnel seized over 300 kg of narcotics valued around Rs 2,000 crore from a container ship on its arrival at the VOC Port in Tuticorin.

Officials in the intelligence agency said the ship, which had originated from Panama, had transited through the ports of Antwerp and Colombo before berthing at the port in Tuticorin, 600 km from Chennai.

“Acting on specific inputs, the DRI personnel examined the container, which had declared wooden logs as its cargo, and seized 302 white coloured compressed bricks wrapped in packing material, concealed in nine bags placed between the logs,” a senior official said, adding that the contraband weighed 303 kg and “was suspected to be cocaine”.

The DRI official said this was one of the major seizures by the agency and the total approximate value of the contraband was around Rs 2,000 crore in the international market. “The contraband was seized under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and an investigation is on,” he added.