Drugs worth Rs. 30cr seized from Delhi Airport's Customs parking
Delhi Police has successfully busted an international drug syndicate which involved several officials at the IGI Airport's Customs department and a UK-based mastermind. The Special Cell managed to seize banned substances worth about Rs. 30cr from the parking lot of the Customs office. The haul included 6.5L tablets of Diazepam, Nitrazepam, Lorazepam, Alprazolam, and Mephedrone aka Meow Meow. The India head has been nabbed.
The gang had befriended Customs official for smuggling drugs
According to police, the gang procured drugs from various parts of India and supplied them to clients in the UK, USA, UAE and other countries. They would send consignments hidden amid clothes and other common items in cartons, which would be specially labeled. They were working in connivance with agents at Customs, who would help them get these couriers through security checks safely.
While UK-based mastermind controlled operations, India associates did the deed
The mastermind, Gajendra Singh Rathore, is based in the UK. His aide Baljeet Singh Balli also lives in London. Based on a tip, police discovered the syndicate's India head Parveen Saini was going to smuggle out a consignment through IGI. He had help from Ashish Sharma, a Customs house agent, who prepared the necessary clearance documents. Two others, Rajinder and Aseem, were also involved.
India head learnt about legal-loopholes when he was being questioned!
Incidentally, Saini revealed he learnt about loopholes in the law when he was questioned by sleuths earlier, when one of his acquaintances was caught shipping drugs through Saini's courier company. He then started his own network. All seized cartons were booked for London with airway bills of Lufthansa pasted on them. They mentioned Hindustan Exim India, an export firm owned by Sharma, as 'sender.'
Four arrested, hunt on for another
The four accused have been nabbed, while a hunt is on for Akshit Gulia, another Customs house agent. "Gulia had contacts with people working at X-ray machines and knew about their duty-hours. He cleared parcels with their help for a commission," said DCP Sanjeev Yadav.
