The Crime Branch on Wednesday said the arrested cocaine peddlers Ravi and Sunny Kumar have links with international drug dealers and it helped them smuggle the drug into the country and Odisha.
Crime Branch ADG Sanjeev Panda said these international links were ascertained after scrutinising their cell phones and call detail records (CDRs).
Panda said, “It was revealed during the interrogation that the duo had connections with some foreign drug cartels in Switzerland, China, France, United States, Thailand and South Africa. They were in regular contact with the drug peddlers and middlemen in those countries.”
“They used an already established drug distribution network in Odisha. However, for selling cocaine, they eyed the high-net-worth individuals, particularly the tourists scheduled to arrive in Bhubaneswar for the Hockey World Cup in 2023,” Panda added.
Following the interrogation, it was found that apart from Bhubaneswar, the duo had visited the Holy city of Puri to prepare the blueprint to establish a distribution network.
Earlier, the Special Task Force (STF) of the Crime Branch had seized cocaine weighing 202 grams from both the peddlers in Bhubaneswar on April 13. The market value of the seized contraband was said to be more than Rs 50 lakh.
As per the information provided by the Crime Branch, Ravi used to procure the drug from a dealer in Turkman Gate in Delhi and sold it in many States, including Odisha.
Sunny Kumar used to stay at Salia Sahi in the city and targeted the rich youths to sell the contraband.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is also probing into the case along with the Crime Branch, considering the sensitivity of the case.