The Aryavarth EXpress New Delhi: The Anti-Narcotics Task Force of the Delhi Police Crime Branch has dismantled an interstate heroin cartel near the Bhopura border in the Delhi-NCR region, seizing 1.504 kg of heroin valued at Rs 7.5 crore and arresting three individuals, including a husband-and-wife duo who transported the drugs under the guise of family travel, officials said on Wednesday.
The arrested trio includes the couple and the intended receiver of the contraband. According to Delhi Police, the husband and wife cleverly used a taxi, pretending to be on a routine family trip, which allowed them to evade suspicion while moving the narcotics across state borders.
The seizure represents a major breakthrough in Delhi’s ongoing efforts to curb drug trafficking. Authorities have launched an investigation to trace the source of the heroin, identify additional cartel members, and map the broader supply and distribution network.
In a related case, a Dwarka court recently sentenced two Afghan nationals, Abdul Khaliq Noorzai and Ghulam Hazrat Mirzale, to 10 years imprisonment each for trafficking 7.6 kg of heroin, a commercial quantity. The Special Judge (NDPS), Manu Goel Kharb, also imposed fines of Rs 3 lakh on each convict.
The convictions were under Section 21(c) of the NDPS Act for illegal possession, manufacture, sale, purchase, transport, or use of commercial quantities of drugs such as heroin, and Section 23(c) for illegal import or export of narcotics, with additional fines of Rs 10 lakh each.
The Delhi Police have indicated that further updates will follow as the investigation into the interstate cartel progresses.
