New Delhi, March 6 (IANS) The NCB has busted an international drug trafficking network linking Nepal, India and Sri Lanka with arrest of five accused and seizure of 77.60 kg Hashish Oil and 2 kg Charas valued at nearly Rs 10 crore, an official said on Friday.

Acting on credible intelligence regarding the movement of narcotic drugs across multiple states, officers of NCB Hyderabad Zonal Unit intercepted a Tata Safari Storme car on March 3 near Raikal Toll Plaza on the Bengaluru–Hyderabad Highway in Telangana.

During the search of the vehicle, 2 kg of Charas was recovered concealed in specially fabricated cavities. Two persons, one a Delhi resident, and the other a Uttar Pradesh resident, were apprehended in connection with the transportation of the Contraband, said an NCB statement.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the recovered Charas along with other consignment of about 78 kg of Hashish Oil was trafficked into India from Kathmandu, Nepal, through Sonauli Indo-Nepal Border. Consignment of about 78 kg Hashish Oil was already delivered by the arrested persons at Thoothukudi for onward trafficking to Sri Lanka via sea route, it said.

NCB Chennai flung into action on trafficking of Hashish Oil from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka. Subsequently, the NCB team seized about 78 kgs. of Hashish Oil from the possession of three persons, including a Sri Lankan refugee, taking the total number of arrests in this network to five, the NCB said.

Vehicles used for transporting the contraband were also seized. Investigation has revealed that the traffickers had planned to transport the narcotic consignment through the coastal waters off Thoothukudi and deliver it mid sea to a Sri Lankan receiver, using a fishing boat for the maritime transfer, it said.

With the assistance of Indian Coast Guard, NCB intercepted and seized the fishing boat suspected to be used for the planned mid sea transfer near the International Maritime Boundary Line, thereby thwarting the cross border maritime trafficking attempt, the NCB said.

Further probe has identified involvement of a Sri Lankan national, based in Sri Lanka as the final receiver of the seized consignment, who had financed and coordinated the shipment of recovered contraband from Nepal to Sri Lanka, it said.

–IANS

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