150cr heroin seized, 2 Afghans among 6 held

NEW DELHI: In one of the biggest drug hauls in recent times, 36 kilos of heroin worth around Rs 150 crore was seized in the capital and six people, including two Afghans, were arrested. "The arrested have disclosed that the drugs concealed in sandal cavities were brought into India on the Thar Express that crosses the Munnabao check post in Rajasthan," said S N Shrivastava, special CP, special cell.
The kingpin of this module, ?Ali', is in Kuwait and he coordinates with the Afghan manufacturers, police said. The opium is grown under Taliban's protection, converted to heroin in labs there and smuggled into India, police said. The arrested have been identified as Mohd Zamir alias Doctor (46), Baba Fakruddin Sheikh (40), Saleem Khan (52), and Mohammed (48) and Sakiba from Kabul. The two were living in the capital as refugees, police said.
DCP Sanjeev Yadav had been tasked to work on transnational and interstate cartels which frequently use Delhi as a transit point. The team got a tipoff that Delhi-based Afghans were distributing drugs to various destinations in India with help of an Indian businessman.
"On July 26, information was received that a person named ?Doctor' would be making one such delivery to Fakru during late evening hours near Bhikaji Cama Place. A trap was laid and Zamir and Baba were apprehended with eight kilograms of heroin," A S Cheema, addl CP (special cell), said.
At Zamir's instance, Salim was arrested in Jama Masjid area in an early morning raid, and 20kg of fine quality heroin was recovered from a godown in the same area. During interrogation, Salim named Mohammad, an Afghan national living in Lajpat Nagar. "From the 36kg consignment, Salim had delivered 1kg heroin to an Afghan woman namely Sakiba, a resident of Bhogal. Eight kilos were given to Zamir for supply to Fakru and 20kg was kept in a godown. Mohammad was arrested from his rented flat in Lajpat Nagar and led police to Sakiba," DCP Sanjeev Yadav said.
Salim is a graduate from DU's Zakir Hussain College. Mohammad had told him to warehouse Pakistan-made leather slippers with heroin hidden in cavities in their soles. He offered Salim a handsome commission.