NCB arrests two Sri Lankans; heroin worth Rs 1,000 crore seized

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NEW DELHI:

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) team arrested two Sri Lankan nationals on Friday and seized about 100 kg of heroin worth an estimated Rs 1,000 crore as part of a probe involving a trans-border drugs-trafficking racket.

MMM Nawas and Mohamed Afnas were nabbed from Chennai in Tamil Nadu, where they were living by concealing their actual identities.

“The drugs syndicate they masterminded has its tentacles spread across Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Australia,” the NCB said in a statement.

The arrests and the subsequent seizure of about 100 kg of heroin in Sri Lanka, valued at about Rs 1,000 crore in the international market, came about after the NCB and its counterparts in the neighbouring country joined hands to probe a November 2020 heroin seizure from a Sri Lankan fishing vessel Shenaya Duwa in the territorial waters of India.

The NCB and the Indian Coast Guard intercepted the vessel near the Tuticorin Port, and a search of it led to the recovery of 95.87 kg of heroin, 18.32 kg of methamphetamines, five pistols and magazines.

Six Sri Lankan crew members were arrested and are in judicial custody.

Meanwhile, the NCB has reached out to international bodies for a collaborative effort in identifying the syndicate operating out of South-East-Asia. (PTI)