Scaling up its fight against the drug smugglers and syndicates, Customs officers at IGI Airport, New Delhi in yet another successful operation seized a cumulative quantity of 12.9 Kg of Heroin from two Ugandan Nationals who had arrived from Nairobi (Kenya) via Abu Dhabi during the intervening night of 12^th and 13^th November 2021. The value of the seized Narcotic is approximately pegged at Rs 90 Crore as per the prevailing International prices.

The narcotic and the smugglers had passed through several jurisdictions including Uganda, Kenya and India, before being intercepted. The said heroin was concealed in the false bottom of their check-in luggage.

A total of 12.900 Kg of crystalline heroine was recovered from two lady Ugandan Passengers, from their three suitcases.

The baggage of the passengers was also sniffed by the canines of the Dog Squad of the Indian Customs stationed at the Delhi Airport and the canine indicated the presence of some narcotic substance in the baggage. On detailed personal and baggage search and questioning, the lady passengers admitted to having brought the heroine in their checked in baggage by ingeniously concealing the Heroin in the specially made cavities beneath the fake layer of fibre-plastic base on both the sides of the suitcases. It was vacuum packed in plastic and paper bags containing crystalline form of off-white-coloured powder/granules of Heroin.

During the questioning, one of the lady passengers revealed that she was introduced to a Kenyan national, who had promised her money in exchange of delivery of certain goods in Delhi. Thus, on this invite, the lady passenger travelled to Nairobi from Kampala by road where the Kenyan handed over a bag to be delivered in Delhi while also providing tickets and certain documents to cover her visit as a Medical tourist. She was supposed to deliver the goods to a person who would contact her on exit. When she was intercepted by Customs officials, she was found to be in possession of a bag with a false bottom/cavity where 5.4 kg of Heroin was concealed.

The other female passenger was also intercepted in the same flight in almost similar manner wherein she was found to be in possession of two bags with false bottom/cavity containing cumulative of 7.5 kg of concealed heroin. During her preliminary questioning, the lady passenger revealed that she was sent by her sister from Kampala to Nairobi by road and from there to Delhi via Abu Dhabi by the aforementioned flight. This passenger was also possessing certain documents to fake the profile of a medical tourist.

The success against the drug smuggling menace comes in the wake of earlier seizure of approx. 3 kg of heroin recovered from a Kenyan National who had arrived in the intervening night of 28^th and 29^th October 2021 from Nairobi via Sharjah. Before also, on 23.04.2021, two Indian nationals who were coming from Uganda were intercepted with 2 kg of heroin wherein investigation resulted into identification of 3 more accused persons who are based out of Uganda.

In this calendar year, the Delhi Customs have seized more than 100 kg of heroin. More than 26 persons have been arrested. Given the spurt in the attempts to smuggle in narcotics through the passenger route, Indian Customs have heightened the scrutiny and checking of suspects through robust intelligence gathering mechanism and pin pointed profiling at all the international airports. Customs department is at the forefront of crusade against the drugs smuggling and syndicates. In September this year, a huge consignment of 3000 kg of heroin were seized at Mundra port.

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RM/KMN