Mundra Port drug bust: NIA arrests one Afghan national from Delhi

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has made an arrest nearly three months after a massive drug shipment was caught being smuggled into India through Gujarat's Mundra Port. According to sources, the arrested individual is reportedly an Afghanistan national and was apprehended in New Delhi. The arrest on Tuesday marks the fifth in the case as the NIA had earlier remanded an accused named Mohammed Khan in suspicion of his link to the case. 

Mundra port drug bust

Earlier in September this year, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized drugs 2988.22 Kg heroin that reportedly originated from Afghanistan and was bound to Mundra Port from Iran's Bandra Abbas port in two containers. According to multiple media sources, the drugs were mixed in a consignment of semi-processed talc stones for deception and are worth a whopping Rs21,000 crore, making it approximately Rs7 crore per kg.

Following the drug bust, NIA had arrested three people including M Sudhakaran and Durga Vaishali who allegedly ran the Vijayawada-registered Aashi Trading Company that was receiving the shipment. Another accused Rajkumar P also accompanies the other two and all of them have been charged under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Initially handled by the DRI, the case was transferred to NIA on October 6.

NIA nabs Afghan national

After making several arrests of Indians associated with the drug bust, the NIA nabbed Mohammed Khan who was detained by authorities at the Delhi airport while trying to flee India. Amit Nair, the special public prosecutor for the NIA had said as per PTI-

Khan's name was revealed during the investigation into the case, and a lookout notice was issued against him. He was detained by authorities at the Delhi airport while he was trying to escape from the country, and was handed over to the NIA and taken to Patiala.

Before the NIA took over, the DRI had also arrested four Afghans and one Uzbek national. Besides, follow-up operations were also carried out which led to the seizure of a combined 37 kg of heroin and cocaine from several locations in Delhi and Noida.