438 kilos of contraband drug worth over ₹50 crore seized, three arrested
DRUG SYNDICATE Pseudoephedrine was being smuggled to Myanmar for making meth
NEW DELHI: Three members of a drug cartel, including a Myanmar citizen, were arrested between Tuesday and Thursday with 438 kilograms of pseudoephedrine worth over ₹50 crore in the international market — the biggest seizure of the contraband in Delhi, police said on Friday.
The drug was smuggled to be used in preparing methamphetamine or crystal meth (Ice). The meth was to be smuggled to rave parties , said the police.
The drug racket allegedly smuggled narcotics from Delhi to Myanmar through the porous borders, said a special cell officer.
The accused were identified as Sum Mang (46) from Myanmar, Sumit Kumar (22) from Delhi’s Vasant Kunj and Sunil Goyal (51) from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. Police said Mang had been staying in a rented accommodation in south Delhi primarily for the illegal trade.
Pramod Singh Kushwah, DCP (special cell), said Goyal holds a drug trading licence issued by the Delhi government. He was procuring pseudoephedrine in huge quantity from Bhagirath Palace in Chandni Chowk using that licence but was selling them to Mang and Sumit at a higher price.
“Sumit was working as the carrier. His job was to send parcels of pseudoephedrine in goods trains by claiming that the medicines were used for animal husbandry in northeastern states. After sending it to Guwahati and Dimapur, he used to reach there in a flight and personally collect the consignment,” said Khuswah, adding that Sumit was earning over ₹1 lakh per month in the illegal business.
Sumit was arrested on Tuesday from New Delhi railway station following information that he would send pseudoephedrine to Guwahati. Around 340kg of the drug was seized from him.
“Sumit later identified Sum Mang as the main person of the cartel. We caught Mang and recovered another 96kg of pseudoephedrine. Their interrogation led to the arrest of Goyal ,” said Kushwah.
Mang, Kushwah said, revealed that in November 2016, he came in contact with his friend Tin Tun in Myanmar, who introduced him to the drug trafficking trade. Tun asked him to procure raw materials used for preparing methamphetamine, which is sold between $200 and $650 US dollars per gram across the world.
“He offered him 10% profit,” Kushwah said. In January 2017, Mang visited Mizoram and Manipur but could not find pseudoephedrine tablets. Tun then gave him the reference of one John from Manipur who lives in Delhi and was involved in the illegal trade. John introduced Mang to Sumit and they together started the drug trade with Goyal’s help.
He added that on September 13, Mang visited Mayapuri and parked in a no-parking spot. The car was towed . “But Mang did not visit the police station to get his car because he feared that the police will get to know about his nationality and he will be arrested. The car is still parked at the Mayapuri police station,” said Kushwah.