Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Mar 7: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has dismantled an international drug trafficking network spanning Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka, arresting five individuals and seizing 77.60 kg of Hashish Oil and 2 kg of Charas, valued at nearly Rs 10 crore, officials said on Friday.
Acting on credible intelligence about narcotics movement across multiple states, the NCB’s Hyderabad Zonal Unit intercepted a Tata Safari Storme on March 3 near Raikal Toll Plaza on the Bengaluru–Hyderabad Highway in Telangana. During the vehicle search, 2 kg of Charas was recovered from specially fabricated compartments. Two men, one from Delhi and the other from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested in connection with the transport of the contraband.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the seized Charas, along with 78 kg of Hashish Oil, had been trafficked into India from Kathmandu, Nepal, through the Sonauli Indo-Nepal border. The Hashish Oil had already been delivered to Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, for onward maritime trafficking to Sri Lanka.
Following this, the NCB Chennai unit acted against the Hashish Oil consignment. Three more individuals, including a Sri Lankan refugee, were arrested, bringing the total number of arrests in the network to five. Vehicles used for transporting the drugs were also seized.
The investigation revealed that the traffickers planned to transfer the consignment mid-sea to a Sri Lankan receiver using a fishing boat from Thoothukudi. With support from the Indian Coast Guard, NCB intercepted and seized the boat near the International Maritime Boundary Line, effectively foiling the cross-border maritime operation.
Further probe identified a Sri Lankan national, based in Sri Lanka, as the final receiver of the consignment. He had financed and coordinated the shipment from Nepal to Sri Lanka, authorities said.
This operation underscores NCB’s ongoing efforts to curb cross-border narcotics trafficking and dismantle organized international drug networks.