New Delhi: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has unearthed a module supplying powerful psychoactive drug methamphetamine, worth crores, in Delhi, Goa and abroad.
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The module was busted after a woman from Zimbabwe was arrested at IGI Airport with three kilograms of the drug worth around Rs 15 crore in the international market.
NCB was tipped off about the woman carrying meth boarding an Indigo flight to Goa after which a trap was laid at Terminal 1, said Madho Singh, zonal director of the unit. “It was found that the woman would come to the airport around 8.30pm on Tuesday. The teams intercepted her at the departure hall,” he said.
On checking her two bags, the white powder was found packed in black plastic bags and hidden in either side of her trolley bag, Singh added.
The woman told investigators that she had arrived in Mumbai from Harare on March 20. After reaching Delhi, she was handed the packet by a man from an African country. She was supposed to deliver the consignment to a Nigerian in Manila, she has confessed. Cops have scrutinised her travel details and found that she had come to India in November 2017 as well allegedly to traffic a consignment.
Meth has become extremely popular among youths of late because of its pricing and the quality. Often called the poor man’s cocaine, it is available at half the price but the high is “happier and longer”.
According to sleuths, the meth racket is a vital arm of transnational syndicates trafficking high-value narcotics in The Philipines, Kuwait, Dubai, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Sri Lanka. While a considerable chunk gets exported, a large amount is being consumed in India as well.
Most of it is prepared from precursors like pseudoephidrine,which is available as medicine, at makeshift labs in rural areas. “It’s difficult to detect and bust these labs as many operate from homes located in the interiors of slums and crowded localities,” said a source.
Making meth is a complex procedure as it requires mixing various forms of amphetamine with other chemicals but it does not require much infrastructure, an officer said. “All it requires is a mixer/shaker in which the pseudoephedrine pills, red phosphorus and hydriodic acid, apart from some other substances, are shaken and later dried.”
Some times, the makers use pills prescribed as cold remedies, battery acid and kerosene oil to increase its potency and volume. “This is why meth-makers — who are often intoxicated — end up burning their hands or even the entire lab at times,” the source added.-TimesofIndia
