NCB seizes over 50 kg heroin, suspects Afghan link to racket

The Narcotics Control Bureau has said that it has seized over 50 kg high-quality heroin and arrested a man after searches in the Shaheen Bagh area of Delhi's Jamia Nagar on Thursday. It suspects an Afghan link to the drug smuggling racket.

NCB deputy director general (operations) Sanjay Kumar Singh said ₹30 lakh cash was also seized after the operation at a residential premises in south Delhi. The drugs were kept in backpacks and jute bags wrapped in packets of e-commerce major Flipkart and other companies, the officer said. This was one of the biggest narcotics seizures in Delhi in the recent past, that too from a residential area. Another 47 kg suspected narcotics were also seized from the premises and NCB has sent samples for lab tests, Singh said.

"It has been revealed that an Indo-Afghan syndicate based in the National Capital Region and neighbouring states is connected with the case. Syndicates have expertise in manufacturing and adulterating heroin locally," Singh said. Another senior officer said the kingpin of the syndicate was based in Dubai and the agency would probe further. The man arrested did not stay in the raided apartment at Shaheen Bagh but rented it, the officer said.


India-Afghan syndicates smuggle goods to India through maritime and land-borders. Heroin is smuggled with legitimate goods and cargo, NCB said. NCB is carrying out searches to bust the entire network and nab traffickers based in Punjab, UP, Uttarakhand and Delhi, it said.