Drugs seized from air passenger in Tiruchy

Sources said, acting on a tip off that S Ajim Nagoor Khan (24), a resident of Ramanathapuram, was planning to smuggle the drug to Kuala Lumpur by Air Malindo Flight OD 224, NCB personnel from Chennai waited at the Tiruchy airport and nabbed him. They found the contraband concealed in 80 stainless steel lunch boxes with 120 gram in each box. According to sources, Pseudoephedrine is often smuggled from the country. While it costs more than Rs 3 lakh in the Indian market, it costs over Rs 10 lakh in Malaysia and other East Asian countries.

According to officials sources, the drug was last seized in Tiruchy in June 2017. Between January 24, 2016, and January 23, 2017, the customs department had seized Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) worth Rs 7.4 crore at the Tiruchy airport. Similarly, gold worth Rs 5.9 crore was also seized.

However, drugs worth Rs 3 crore and gold worth Rs 11 crore were seized between January 2017 and January 2018.