Telangana man held in Bengaluru for smuggling 14kg heroin worth ₹100 crore

The DRI has booked the suspect under the 1985 Narcotics and Psychotropic Drug Substance Act (NDPS), which prohibits production, possession, sale, purchasing, and transport of banned substances.

New drug cartel

The accused, who hails from Telangana, had landed at Bengaluru airport by a morning flight from Addis Ababa, the capital of the East African country Ethiopia

Based on credible inputs, the DRI officials nabbed the suspect while he was on his way to catch a flight to Delhi right after landing at KIA.

“He was supposed to meet his contacts in Delhi and hand over consignment. He was given a phone number to call his contact.” the officials said.

The officials added that the suspect had gone to Addis Ababa in search of a job and was lured into becoming a carrier by an international drug cartel.

“They offered the suspect a good amount of money, along with tickets and stay in a five-star hotel,” said the officials.

Rise in smuggling from Ethiopia

Marking it the eighth case the DRI busted since 15 July, the officials said that special operations against smuggling have been launched as the cases from Addis Ababa are on a rise.

In a similar case, the DRI sleuths on 1 August caught an Indian man with 16 kg of heroin worth ₹112 crore at the KSR Bengaluru Railway Station.

This came after the officials on 27 July nabbed an African national and recovered ₹11 crore worth of cocaine capsules, which he had consumed.

In both cases, the accused landed from Addis Ababa and were asked by their handlers to meet their contacts in Delhi and hand over the parcel to them.

“It is possible that the same international drug racket is operating and they are enrolling new faces as mules to smuggle drugs and supply to a syndicate operating in Delhi,” the officials added.