With the arrest of eight people, including a Nigerian National, in different operations, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday claimed to have unearthed a major pan-India heroin trafficking network in the country. The NCB has also seized about 35 kilograms (kgs) of narcotics worth more than Rs 100 crores in the international market from the possession of the accused.
According to a senior NCB official, the operation began on May 24 after the federal anti-drug agency first intercepted two women passengers who landed in Bengaluru from Zimbabwe and about seven kg of heroin was seized from them.
Their questioning led NCB officials to various other links — a Nigerian national identified as the "kingpin" of the network and other operatives staying in the national Capital and Itarsi in Madhya Pradesh.
In this operation, 34.89 kg of high-grade heroin has been seized and eight people arrested, the NCB said.
This was a major heroin trafficking network operating across the country, it said. Out of the eight, one accused is a Nigerian and the rest are Indian nationals. Three more women, stated to be citizens of some African nations, have been apprehended and they will be arrested once the agency gathers evidence against them, a senior NCB official said.
According to the statement issued by the NCB, Rs 5.8 lakh in cash was also seized during the operation. The Nigerian kingpin from Delhi used to ask Indian lady handlers to arrange women carriers who would fly abroad and bring drugs concealed in their luggage.
They were paid for each trip along with all travel expenses by the cartel, the NCB said.
Last month in April, the NCB seized about 50 kg of "high-quality" heroin, 47 kg of other suspected drugs and Rs 30 lakh in cash from the Shaheen Bagh area in Jamia Nagar here.
One person was also arrested during the NCB raid. The drugs were kept in backpacks, jute bags and wrapped in packets of e-commerce firms. The drugs came to the country through an India-Afghanistan syndicate that was busted.