The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday attached two properties of notorious heroin smuggler, Razi Haider Zaidi of Okhla Vihar, Jamia Nagar here in a case relating to the seizure of over 102 kg heroin smuggled from Afghanistan via the Attari border in Amritsar, Punjab.
The immovable properties attached under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act include a residential plot/land measuring 121.35 square metres in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, which the accused Razi Haider Zaidi had purchased in his own name for Rs 4,00,000. The other property is a residential two storied building at Okhla Vihar , Jamia Nagar, Delhi, purchased for Rs 24,5 lakh in name of Zaidi’s wife. Both properties were acquired by the accused Razi Haider Zaidi from the sale proceeds of heroin, the NIA said.
Prime accused in the case Razi Haider Zaidi, was arrested by NIA on August 24 last year and a charge sheet against him, along with three other co-accused persons, was filed on December 16 under various sections of NDPS Act.
The drug consignment of a total of 102.784 kg heroin was seized by the customs department on April 24 and 26, 2022. The narcotics, which had reached Integrated Check Post (ICP) Attari on April 22, 2022, were found concealed in a consignment of licorice roots (mulethi). The NIA investigations revealed that the accused Zaidi was the receiver of this consignment of licorice roots in which heroin was concealed.
As per the NIA investigations, on the directions of Dubai-based absconding co-accused Shahid Ahmed, around 103 kg heroin concealed in the consignment of licorice roots had been sent by Afghan-based heroin smuggler Nazir Ahmed Qani, a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan, and it was supposed to be delivered to Zaidi who had handed over Rs 11 lakh in cash to another accused as advance payment of the said consignment.
Further investigations revealed that Shahid Ahmed alias Qazi Abdul Wadood had directed Zaidi to collect and deliver heroin consignments from various places in India.
Further, Zaidi had also collected cash of around Rs 2.5 crore from various States as sale proceeds of heroin. From this, he had taken his share and had channelized some of the drug proceeds into the bank account of Shahid Ahmed.
He handed over the rest as cash to Shahid’s brother Azeem Ahmed and other associates of Shahid Ahmed, the NIA alleged. Prior to the consignment of heroin recovered in this case, in February 2022, accused Zaidi, along with accused Shahid Ahmed and Qani, also smuggled heroin concealed in licorice roots imported from Afghanistan. About 50 kg heroin was recovered from Zaidi by the NCB, New Delhi.
“It has come on record that accused Razi Haider Zaidi is a notorious drug smuggler and supplier and in February 2022, he had imported 640 cans of chemicals through Iran for processing heroin at his rented godown in Muzaffarnagar, UP with the assistance of Afghan nationals sent by the Afghan-based accused Shahid Ahmed. The said narcotics were later seized by NCB, New Delhi in a joint operation with ATS, Gujarat,” the NIA said in its statement.
Investigations have also unearthed that in November 2021, on the instructions of accused Shahid Ahmed, Zaidi and two of his associates Avtar Singh and Mohd. Imran had gone to Ahmedabad twice for the collection of narcotic drugs, which they brought to Delhi. Later, Zaidi supplied the drugs to other associates of Shahid Ahmed, the agency said.
Apart from the above-mentioned instances of drugs smuggling in which Zaidi was arrested by different law enforcement agencies, he had successfully smuggled heroin and collected money derived from its sales from various places of Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat among others.
Initially, the case was investigated by the Customs Department, Amritsar and later, under directions of the Union Home Ministry, the NIA took over the investigations