Rs 4.75 crore drugs haul by DRI near harbour

The DRI officials received a tip-off that smugglers were trying to ship a container filled with drugs under the guise of cotton fabric to Malaysia. The DRI officials tracked the container and brought it to Container Freight Station in Manali for a detailed examination. They found Pseudoephedrine, a controlled substance under NDPS Act, 1985. The contraband weighted 23.9 kilograms and is valued at Rs 4.75 crore. The chemical was concealed in bales of dyed cotton fabric (legging material). The consignment was reportedly being shipped by MM Exporters of Mannady to AR Bright Trading and Resources, Melaka in Malaysia.  The arrested smugglers have been identified as Syed Musafar Sadiq (32), S M Sirajudeen (31), Sathish (30) and V Packiakumar (46).

The DRI sleuths began pursuing further intelligence inputs regarding the smuggling operations of the same gang which lead the team to intercept a speed post consignment in the National Sorting Hub. The team seized 9,990 Alprazolam tablets, a schedule H1 drug covered under the NDPS Act, 1985. The raid yielded a seizure of 10,000 Alprazolam tablets in 33 packets. The press release said, the parcel was found to be booked by Tariq Ali Khan with an address bearing the details Mobeen Tailor along with a Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh address. The post was addressed to Syed Ali of Mannady. The officials while surveying the activities of the smugglers found that the mastermind and his accomplices were fleeing in a tempo traveller. The DRI officers chased and intercepted them on the National Highway near Chengalpattu and brought them to Chennai. They were identified as Syed Musafar Sadiq (32), the mastermind and his accomplices S M Sirajudeen (31), Sathish (30) and V Packiakumar (46). The four have been arrested under NDPS Act.