NCB sleuths foil bid to smuggle ephedrine to Mumbai, 3 arrested

Chennai: Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) sleuths arrested three persons — one in Chennai, one in Trichy and third person in Pune — for allegedly smuggling 3.9 kg ephedrine, a controlled substance, from Chennai to Mumbai via Bengaluru. NCB sleuths had secured one of them in Periamet on Saturday based on information and seized the drug, hidden in three handbags and embroidery mats. After extracting info from him, another man, resident of Ramanathapuram, was secured in Pune with the help of RPF personnel on Sunday and the NCB Madurai sub-zone personnel secured another man, resident of Triplicane, in connection with the smuggling in Tiruchy. NCB said that Ramanathapuram resident is the head of the gang and has already been arrested last year for attempting to smuggle a controlled substance to Australia. “He along with the Triplicane man arranged the contraband and tried to smuggle it to Mumbai via Bengaluru,” NCB said.