basil seeds

Afghan heroin

Pakistani fishing vessel

Islam Qila

India-Pakistan border

The heroin originated from Herat, and was brought by sea to Mumbai via Bandar Abbas, Iran

The contraband, camouflaged under layers of, was imported through Iran.Delhi police’s special cell has seized 130 kg of high-grade heroin of Afghan origin, worth around Rs 500 crore in gray markets, from a private warehouse in Panvel. Acting on specific intelligence, the Delhi police team, led by special cell’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Manishi Chandra, undertook a search of the container that arrived by sea from Bandar Abbas, Iran, and allegedly found the banned substance packed in a crystal form in a manner to evade detection in over 260 jute bags of imported ‘basil seeds’.The seizure represents a rare instance ofarriving by sea in India, said a police source. The information on the consignment allegedly came from an Afghan accused nabbed by the special cell in connection with a probe into the seizure of 150 kg of Afghan heroin from south Delhi a week ago, he said. “The roles of an Andheri firm that imported the basil seeds, the clearing house agent and the authorities of the Panvel warehouse from where the seizure was made, are being examined. We are verifying if such transactions took place in the past,” DCP Chandra told Mirror. The trafficking syndicate had a sophisticated processing facility in Delhi to extract such imported heroin and a search is on to see if there is one in Mumbai, Maharashtra too, said sources.The seizure shows Mumbai and western coast’s primacy as key transit points for the illegal entry of narcotics, especially, heroin from landlocked Afghanistan for distribution across India, said police sources. In May this year, the Coast Guard had allegedly seized 200 kg heroin worth Rs 600 crore from a, Al Medina. In July 2017, it had seized 1,500 kg of heroin worth around Rs 4,500 crore from a merchant vessel off Gujarat coast.“The Afghan heroin, which was in a crystal form, was imported under the cover of basil seeds. The mastermind from Delhi and his accomplice, an Afghan national from Kandahar, have been arrested,” said a police official. “They are being questioned for the identities of their collaborators, the potential buyers of the heroin and their Afghan associates,” he said.It seems that the heroin originated from, Herat, Afghanistan, and then trafficked by sea to Mumbai via Bandar Abbas, Iran. Narcotic syndicates based in Afghanistan allegedly supply locally produced heroin to India, United States and Europe, sources said.“It’s a rare seizure that indicates the spread of influence of the organised crime syndicate,” a source said. The police suspect the contraband was to be transported to Delhi for sale.Delhi police have been conducting an interstate crackdown on Afghan heroin on the basis of leads from a probe into the seizure of 150 kg of the contraband on July 19 at Zakir Nagar in south Delhi. The seizure of the contraband worth Rs 600 crore led to the arrest of two Afghan nationals, Shinwari Rehmat and Akhtar Shinwari, as well as their local alleged associates. Later, the Delhi police also seized 50 kg of Afghan heroin, worth Rs 200 crore, from a cold storage located in Sonepat, Haryana. It allegedly had been smuggled via Wagah-Attari on the. The contraband was concealed in polypacks.According to Special Cell’s Joint Commissioner of Police Neeraj Thakur, the ongoing crackdown has resulted in the seizure of 330 kg of heroin worth Rs 1,320 crore in the gray markets.