Delhi Police’s special cell, in a joint operation with Gujarat Police, seized 518kg of cocaine from the factory of a major pharmaceutical company in Gujarat’s Ankleshwar – the latest in a series of massive busts of the narcotic drug as authorities continued their crackdown on an expansive syndicate spanning several countries.
The owners of the pharma company are being questioned to determine their role in the smuggling racket, investigators aware of the developments in the case said.
Sunday’s seizure was the third bust in the past 15 days, taking the total amount of cocaine bust to 1,288kg – the first bust was on October 1 in Mahipalpur, where 562kg of cocaine was nabbed, while on October 10, officers recovered 208kg of cocaine packed discreetly in packets of “namkeen” in Ramesh Nagar.
At least seven people have been arrested in the past two weeks in the crackdown on the syndicate, according to officers of the special cell.
Also read: Major drug busts in October: Cocaine, MD seized across India in ₹15,000 cr haul | List
The investigation into the two previous seizures by Delhi Police has revealed that the contraband was part of a larger consignment of around 900kg of the drug, which was smuggled into India under the garb of a fake pharmaceutical company, senior officers aware of the probe said.
Senior officers said they found 518 kgs of cocaine packed in gunny bags along with other legal drugs inside the factory in Ankleshwar.
Though police said that Sunday’s bust of 518kg narcotics was worth ₹5,000 crore, the street value of the drug in the United States ($120 per gram), according to UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), would value the haul at around ₹550 crore.
Links to Delhi drug bust
Preliminary inquiry into one of the biggest cocaine seizures in Delhi revealed that the accused brought in cocaine in old cargo ships from Dubai to Goa, officials said. DCP (cell) Amit Kaushik’s team had on October 1 arrested businessman Tushar Goyal, his two aides and a receiver with 562 kgs of refined cocaine in Mahipalpur.
Also read: Drugs worth ₹2000 cr found in Namkeen packs; Delhi man under scanner
Police said further investigation led them to more associates – London-based Jatinder Pal Singh Gill and two transports Md Akhlaq and A Saifi. On October 10, police recovered 208kgs of cocaine from a shut shop in Ramesh Nagar.
Police said the seizures were made based on the interrogation of Gill and Saifi.
“During the investigation, it was found that the recovered drugs belonged to a company named Pharma Solution Services and it came from a registered pharmaceutical company of Ankleshwar, Gujarat,” said Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) RP Upadhyaya.
Investigators said the drugs first were received in Goa and were taken to the Gujarat factory for “refining”.
The drugs were processed and “refined” at the factory along with other medicines, said the police.
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To evade suspicion, police said the accused created a fake company – Pharma Solution Services Ltd – and would use the company’s name to send medicines and banned drugs from Gujarat to Delhi.
“The refines drugs were stored in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi where businessmen like Goyal would take care of the consignment and find buyers. The consignment would then go to different states (based on buyers),” said another officer.
Special CP added, “A total of 1,289kg of cocaine and 40kg of hydroponic marijuana have been recovered in this case so far, which is worth ₹13,000 crore.”
To be sure, the street value of the drug in the US is at least ₹1,300 crore, according to UNODC figures.
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