Peddlers smuggled drugs on flight from Manipur to Delhi, held with ₹12-cr heroin
An international drug syndicate with roots in Myanmar and Indian states such as Manipur, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab was busted on Tuesday by the special cell of Delhi Police.
Two key members of the drug cartel were caught from central Delhi’s Daryaganj area with three kilograms of heroin worth ₹12 crore in the international market.
The consignment was to be delivered to an African drug dealer based in Delhi, police said. They claimed the receivers of such consignments of drugs in Delhi were mostly people of African origin residing in areas such as Vikaspuri, Tilak Nagar, Shahpur Jat, Uttam Nagar and Khirki Extension.
“Drugs received by these persons are smuggled to European and African countries through courier companies. Investigation regarding suspected links of arrested drug suppliers in Pakistan and Bangladesh is being conducted,” said Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (special cell).
Special cell sleuths said the two drug peddlers, Mohammad Jafar and Parvez Saifi, allegedly supplied heroin from Manipur to Delhi and other states through the air route. They frequently travelled between these states and allegedly carried the consignment of drugs with them in the flights. The two belonged to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.
The DCP said the seized consignment of heroin was smuggled to Manipur from Myanmar and was to be delivered to an African national in Delhi.
“Apart from the drugs, we seized three mobile phones with SIM cards procured and used for the purpose of drug trafficking. We recovered air tickets from the two,” said Yadav.
During interrogation, Yadav said, the arrested drug dealers revealed they were members of a drug syndicate run by a Manipurbased drug peddler, Manjum.
Manjum had supplied the consignment of heroin and instructed them to deliver it to his counterpart in Delhi. They trafficked the heroin in Delhi from Manipur in a flight on Monday.
“The two had wrapped drugs in thick layers of carbon papers to avoid detection by baggage scanners installed at airports. Jafar had created a secret cavity in his bag to hoodwink the security personnel,” added Yadav.
Jafar said Manjum had links with drug suppliers in Myanmar. Apart from getting heroin from Manipur, Manjum procured huge consignments from his counterparts in Myanmar, he told the police.
“There is widespread illegal cultivation of opium in bordering areas of Manipur where heroin is prepared but its quality is inferior to that brought from Myanmar. The processed heroin of Myanmar is of superior quality and is cheaper than heroin produced in Manipur. That is why heroin produced in Myanmar is in high demand internationally, including in India,” said an investigator.
Jafar told police he was into the illegal trade for the last three years and supplied more than 50 such consignments from Manipur to various states during that period.
Drugs received by these persons are smuggled to various European and African countries through courier companies. Investigation regarding suspected links of arrested drug suppliers in Pakistan and Bangladesh is being conducted.