Drugs worth Rs2.5 crore seized at Mumbai airport

Airport customs officials seized 15kg of the drug methaqualone on Wednesday morning. The value of the seized drugs is estimated to be over Rs2.5 crore. The drugs were neatly packed in packets of tea and salt to fool the authorities.

The team of customs officials was headed by Sameer Wankhede, the assistant commissioner of customs. After receiving a tip-off that a large consignment of drugs was being sent through courier from Mumbai to London, the team intercepted the package. They allowed the consignment to clear all formalities and then seized it before it was put on a flight that was taking off.

“We had to go through three tonnes of baggage before finally finding the drug consignment. We had only received a tip-off that a drug consignment was supposed to go to London, but we had no clue through which courier company and airline it was going,” said a senior customs official.

The consignment was going through two different airlines, Qatar Airlines and Air India.
Officials tried tracked the courier company’s office on Wednesday, but have not found any leads so far. “We will be questioning the courier company to find out who was sending the consignment,” added the official.

In another case, Girish Kanse, the assistant commissioner of customs, on Tuesday held two Sri Lankan passengers for smuggling gold into the country. One of them was on a flight coming from Singapore, carrying six gold biscuits worth Rs45 lakh, and the other from Dubai, carrying two gold biscuits worth Rs17 lakh.