New Delhi:

In a significant move, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India launched a massive operation under ‘Operation Sagar Manthan’ to dismantle the large-scale drug cartel activities of wanted smuggler Haji Salim, also known as “Lord of Drugs.”

According to officials, the operation was launched on the directions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to track down Haji Salim aka Haji Baloch and his trafficking syndicate spread worldwide. As part of this operation, authorities have seized nearly 4,000 kilograms of illicit drugs linked directly to Salim’s cartel, with several Pakistani nationals arrested in connection with the haul.

The criminal network of Haji Salim is suspected to be responsible for a massive drug pipeline spanning multiple countries, from Pakistan to India and beyond, officials said.

Speaking to ANI, Deputy Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau, Gyaneshwar Singh, said, “Haji Salim is one of the biggest drug traffickers in the world, who supplies large shipments of heroin, methamphetamine, and other illegal narcotics through a complex network that spans across Asia, Africa, and the West. He has a very big network. He has been on our radar for a long time but in this case, I would not like to comment on Haji Salim’s name or anyone else’s name because the investigation is still at a very initial stage.”

Salim is allegedly the leader of a massive smuggling syndicate responsible for trafficking large quantities of narcotics across several countries, including India, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Multiple international law enforcement agencies including those in the United States, Malaysia, Iran, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, New Zealand, and Afghanistan are on the lookout for him.

“He is one of the most wanted drug kingpins in the Indian Ocean region. His operations are vast, and the scale of his trafficking syndicate is unparalleled,” he said.

“Salim’s network is linked to narco-terrorism activities that destabilize the region. His drugs are not only a menace to society but also fund terror operations across borders,” added Singh.

According to officials, the drug syndicate of Haji Salim was first unearthed in 2015 when a massive consignment of drugs worth several crores was intercepted near the coast of Kerala.

Following this, NCB officials seized drugs worth an estimated Rs 40,000 crores in the past two and a half years alone. Despite the arrests and confiscations, Salim continued his operations illegally which earned him the nickname “Raktbeej” in the global drug trade, they said.

One of the key tactics used by Salim’s syndicate is the smuggling of drugs through the sea, often using specially marked shipments to identify his cargo. Drugs bearing markings such as 777, 555, 999, flying horses, and scorpions have been consistently found on seized shipments, marking them as belonging to Salim’s network.

According to intelligence sources, Salim’s shipments often originate from Iran, passing through Afghanistan and Malaysia, before reaching Sri Lanka. The drugs are then transferred to smaller vessels that transport the narcotics to the Indian coastline mostly at night, landing at obscure ports and beach locations.

Authorities claim that Haji Salim has a close connection with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, as he was allegedly seen entering and leaving Dawood’s mansion. The authorities have no other information except for an old photograph and an address in Karachi, Pakistan, allegedly near Ibrahim’s hideout, the sources said.

As per NCB sources, intelligence reports suggested that ISI has provided Salim with satellite phones, to stay in constant touch with his agents at sea. Official sources also claim that Salim employs unemployed youth from Balochistan to carry out smuggling operations.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chennai:

In a big seizure, the Narcotics Control Bureau in Chennai has recovered 1.8 kg of cocaine and 1.4 kg of MDMA (ecstasy), busting a pan-India network. The consignment, authorities said, is worth Rs 22 crore in the international market. 

A statement by NCB Chennai Zonal Director P Aravindhan said the cocaine was seized from a Bolivian woman passenger when she landed in Chennai on May 9. The drug was found “concealed inside her woollen jacket”. Further investigation led to the arrest of two women – an Indian and a Brazilian – in Mumbai and the recovery of an additional 15 gm of cocaine from the house of the accused.

As part of another joint operation with the Customs Department, the NCB intercepted a parcel from the Netherlands with 1.4 kg of MDMA. Investigators also tracked down and arrested two Nigerians, in Puducherry and Bengaluru, who they suspect were supposed to receive the contraband. 

In March, a film producer and former DMK functionary, Jaffer Sadiq, had been arrested after a four-month manhunt, for allegedly smuggling drugs worth over Rs 2,000 crore out of the country.  The DMK, which is the ruling party in Chennai, had expelled Sadiq and distanced itself from him. 

New Delhi:

The Narcotics Control Bureau has busted three labs manufacturing banned drug Mephedrone, also known as Meow-Meow, in Rajasthan and Gujarat and seized narcotics worth Rs 300 crore.

Seven people involved in running the illegal labs have been arrested, police said, adding that they have identified the kingpin of the network who will be arrested soon.

The labs were discovered after three months of “intensive” technical and ground surveillance by NCB and Gujarat police, NCB Deputy Director General Gyaneshwar Singh said. 

The two agencies conducted joint raids under operation Prayogsala-1. “Information was received by ATS Gujarat Police from a confidential source regarding clandestine Mephedrone manufacturing labs operating from Gujarat and Rajasthan. To bust these labs, a joint team of ATS Gujarat police and NCB Headquarters Operations unit was constituted,” NCB said in a statement.

A total of 149 kg of mephedrone along with 50 kg ephedrine and 200 litres of acetone that are used in its production were also recovered from the three labs located in the two districts of Rajasthan and one in Gujarat.

The anti-drugs agency is currently conducting a similar raid in in Gujarat’s Amreli. More recoveries are expected, they said.

Efforts are on to track and identify the source of the chemicals as well as the national and international distribution network. 

This comes after several raids across different states in India have led to the seizure of drugs worth over Rs 4,000 crore so far.

New Delhi:

Being a part of the lucrative movie business was not enough for a Tamil film producer, who chose to mastermind a drug racket that earned his gang nearly Rs 2,000 crore in just three years. 

Officials from the Narcotics Control Bureau said Information was received from customs authorities in New Zealand and the police in Australia that large quantities of pseudoephedrine, a key chemical used to make methamphetamine, were being sent to the countries concealed in desiccated coconut powder or health mixes.  

Methamphetamine, also known as meth or crystal meth, is a drug that is in high demand worldwide, and sells for nearly Rs 1.5 crore a kg in Australia and New Zealand. 

“After inputs from the US Drug Enforcement Administration indicated that the consignments were being sent from Delhi, a joint team of the Delhi police special cell and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was constituted. After four months of intensive technical and field surveillance, it was learnt that these operatives were in Delhi again and were trying to send another consignment to Australia,” said Gyaneshwar Singh, Deputy Director General, NCB.

Officials said surveillance led them to a godown in West Delhi’s Basai Darapur, where members of the gang were caught trying to conceal pseudoephedrine in a multigrain food mix to smuggle it. Three members of the gang were arrested and 50 kg of the chemical was seized. 

An official said sustained interrogation of the men, who are from Tamil Nadu, revealed that the gang had sent 45 consignments in the past three years, adding up to 3,500 kg of pseudoephedrine, which is worth over Rs 2,000 crore in the international market. 

“The mastermind of the nexus has been identified as a Tamil film producer, who is on the run. We are trying hard to arrest him so that we can find the source of the pseudoephedrine,” an official said. 

The NCB has also reached out to New Zealand and Australian authorities to arrest the people who received the consignments in those countries.