Chennai, Sept 21 (BPNS)
A Chennai-based couple, Govindarajau Durgapurn Vaishali and her husband Maachavaram Sudhakar who had been living at Kovilpatti for the past eight years were arrested in Bhuj, Gujarat for importing narcotic drugs from Afghanisthan under the guise of Talcum powder.
Officials said that consignment had arrived in two containers with one having 2000 kg of heroin and the other 989 kg. Sources said that each container had semi-solid stones at the top, talcum powder in the middle, and heroin powder at the bottom.
The two were produced before the Bhuj court that remanded them to Judicial custody for ten days.
The arrest and judicial remand followed after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized two containers at Gujarat’s Mundra Port last week with drugs worth 21,000 crores, the biggest drug haul in the country ever.
Highly placed sources in the DRI told BPNS that the drug was comprised of high-quality heroin which was verified by the Central laboratory. Central Intelligence agencies including Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing(R&AW) and other agencies are investigating the case and have taken into custody, several people.
However Central agencies are not giving much information. There are reports that there would be further arrests in some parts of Tamil Nadu.
The modus operandi, according to DRI sources was that the Chennai-based couple had imported the containers claiming that they were importing talcum powder. The import was in the name of Aashi trading company that was owned by the couple and the exporter was Hassan Hussain Limited, based in Kandahar, the epicenter of Taliban in Afghanistan.
When contacted, Chennai City police told IANS that both Sudhakar and Vaishali were leading a quiet life and didn’t have any criminal antecedents or background.
The agencies probing the haul are tight-lipped on the role of the Chennai-based couple who are presently residing in New Delhi. It may be noted that the elite special force of the Tamil Nadu police ‘Q’ branch combing some coastal villages and towns in Tamil Nadu following the arrest of a Sri Lankan Tamil, Suresh Raj from Aluva in Kerala and who was staying in Tamil Nadu for the past several years with fake Indian ID cards including Aadhar, Voter ID and PAN cards.
