DRI seize more than 9 kg cocaine worth 100 crores, four arrested

Mumbai (Maharashtra): In a major success in curbing the drug menace in India, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Mumbai has seized 9.829 kg of cocaine with an illicit market value of approximately 100 crores and apprehended two female passengers of Indonesian and Thai nationality who had come from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a press release said.

The interrogation of the passengers and swift analysis of the case data revealed that the drugs were destined for smuggling by a syndicate based in Delhi and nearby areas.

While one team of DRI officers stationed in Mumbai placed surveillance and started monitoring syndicate activities, another team of DRI Mumbai officers was deployed and rushed to Delhi to apprehend the other key members of the syndicate, the release said.

The DRI officers reached Delhi and they kept surveillance overnight and were successful in catching the prospective recipient of the seized substance who was an African national.

The officers laid a trap in Greater Noida with the help of local officers and identified the mastermind. During the interception, the mastermind got violent and he sprinted by pushing the officers with his full might. The DRI officers, in a dramatic chase, apprehended the Nigerian mastermind and his associate. The officers as well as the accused got mildly injured during the chase.

Subsequently, both of these members of the international drug smuggling syndicate, along with the two passengers were arrested by DRI, Mumbai, under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the release said.