10 kg heroin seized by Delhi Police Special Cell; two held

Delhi Police Special Cell has said that an international narcotics cartel was allegedly busted with the arrest of two of its key members and 10 kg of heroin worth more than Rs 40 crores in international markets have been recovered here.

The accused have been identified as Md. Ikbal Khan, aged 28 years and resident of Kwanta, Teh-Moirang, District Bishnupur, Mpur. The other accused is identified as Md. Ishak, ages 27 years and resident of Hangamthabi, Lilong, Thoubal, Mpur.

"10 kg of high-grade heroin worth more than Rs 40 crores in the International market has been recovered from them. Besides, three mobile handsets, SIM cards used in the drug trafficking activities and one white colour i-20 car, used for transportation of contraband, concealed in its cavity, have also been recovered," police said.

According to the police, the flow of heroin consignments of the drug cartel is from Myanmar to Mpur and then to Guwahati, Siliguri, Darjeeling, Malda, Uttar Pradesh-West and Delhi-NCR etc.

Police said, "On July 23, specific information was received by sub-inspector Raj Singh that key members of this cartel Ikbal Khan and Ishak would come between 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM, near Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, GT Road, Delhi, in a white colour i20 car to supply huge consignment of heroin to one Najim of Delhi."

A raiding party was constituted and a snare was laid down at the place of information. At about 9:20 AM, movement of two suspicious persons was noticed near Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, GT Road, who were carrying pitthu bags with them, as per the police. Both of them were correctly identified by the informer. Before they could escape, Raj Singh along with staff apprehended them.

According to the police, Ikbal's pitthu bag was checked from which one packet/parcel of fine quality contraband heroin weighing six kg was recovered. Further, from the bag of Ishak one packet/parcel of fine quality contraband heroin weighing two kg was recovered. In total, 8 kg of fine quality heroin was recovered.

In this regard, a case under section 21/29 NDPS Act, at police station Special Cell, Delhi has been registered and an investigation is underway.

Police further said, "The spot interrogation of the accused confirmed that they received the recovered heroin consignment from one Ali at Mpur for further supplying the same to his contacts in Delhi and Bareilly. They used an i-20 car for this purpose, in which they concealed drug parcels in the cavity specially created for smuggling of drugs to avoid detection during a search by law enforcement agencies."

"But due to some mechcal snag, they parked their car on the highway near Bareilly, UP and came to Delhi by taking a lift. They further told that two kg of Heroin parcel is still concealed in the cavity of the said car, which was to be delivered to some contact of Ali near Bareilly, UP, as he could not be contacted at that time," the police said.

The police custody remand of accused persons was obtained and the abandoned i-20 car was seized from UP's Bareilly.

On further interrogation accused Md. Ikbal disclosed that to avoid identification, they used to change the colour of the vehicle on every trip, by wrapping coating, which costs about Rs 50,000.

The recovered car was then seized and two kg of heroin concealed in the secret cavity created below the doors and above the fender lining of the wheels of the car was recovered. As such, in this case, a total of 10 kg of fine quality heroin has been recovered so far, the police added.

( With inputs from ANI )