Eight arrested so far in connection with seizure of 3004 kg heroin at Mundra port: Finance Ministry

In its continued crackdown on smuggling of Heroin into India, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) detained two containers on September 13 for examination that had arrived at Mundra Port from Kandhar, Afghanistan via Bandar Abbas, Iran and seized 3004 kg of Heroin, said the Ministry of Finance.

According to the official statement issued by the ministry today, a total of eight persons including four Afghan nationals, one Uzbek National, and three Indian nationals have been arrested in the case so far, said in a Ministry statement.

The ministry stated that the heroin was concealed in jumbo bags said to contain unprocessed talc powder. The heroin was placed in the lower layers of the bags and topped with Talc stones to avoid detection. Resultantly, the heroin had to be painstakingly separated from the Talc Stones.

Immediate follow-up operations were carried out in New Delhi, Noida (UP), Chennai, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Mandvi, Gandhidham, and Vijaywada, it said.

"This led to the recovery of 16.1 kgs of heroin from a Godown in Delhi, 10.2 kgs powder suspected to be cocaine, and 11 kgs of substance suspected to be heroin from a residential place in Noida," the statement said.

The arrested Indian Nationals include the holder of the Import Export Code (IEC), which was used to import the consignment who was arrested in Chennai.
Investigations are in progress, the ministry said.

(ANI)