New Delhi: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has identified Mumbai as the ‘cocaine capital’ of India, while mentioning that some other metropolitan cities are not far behind.
In an alarming statistic, it was revealed that 2499 kilograms of cocaine, seized during the past two years from Sri Lanka, Port Elizabeth and Panama, was headed for India, Hindustan Times reported.
Just to get a perspective, the international rate for this prohibited drug is Rs 5 crore per kg.
Experts are of the view that there is a possibility that drug cartels may shift processing of cocaine from South America to India.
According to senior NCB officials, around 300 kg of cocaine landed in Mumbai in December 2018 through a syndicate with links in India, Australia and Canada.
The syndicate was unearthed when an Indian internet protocol (IP) was found to be involved in smuggling of 200 kg methamphetamine from Canada to Australia. The IP address was traced to Akshinder Singh Sodhi of Punjab, who was later arrested in possession of 422 kg of cocaine in India.
On Thursday, NCB intercepted two Nigerian drug peddlers in Mumbai and recovered drugs worth Rs 1.5 crore from them.
In the last couple of years, NCB has conducted raids in UP, Punjab and Delhi to seize 20 kg of cocaine and arrested a number of people, including Indonesian and Nigerian nationals.
Bollywood actor Ajaz Khan was recently arrested over possession of contraband drugs.
Not long ago, New Delhi was considered to be the country’s cocaine capital. Now, Mumbai has emerged as the ‘leader’.
