An official said today that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had detained a further suspect in connection with the September 2017 seizure of about 3,000 kg of heroin at the Gujarati port of Mundra.
According to a federal agency official, a businessman from West Bengal’s Malda region named Sushanta Sarkar was detained for allegedly helping smuggle heroin into India to fund terrorism.
Sushanta Sarkar is the 26th suspect detained in the case involving the activities of one of the largest international drug smuggling organizations, which is headed by the NIA-wanted Afghan brothers Hassan and Hussain Daad.
The NIA claims that the Daad brothers have transported many consignments of heroin to India in containers via a maritime channel.
According to the NIA, the heroin was first cleaned in Afghanistan and then covered in other substances, including semi-processed talc and bituminous coal, before being trucked to the Indian ports of Gujarat and Kolkata and ultimately New Delhi.
On September 13 of last year, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence discovered 2,988 kg of heroin being trafficked from Afghanistan via a container freight station at the Gujarati port of Mundra, and they immediately filed a complaint.
According to the source, on October 6, the NIA re-registered the case.
According to the NIA, the newest arrest was made on Tuesday, and “The accused plays a significant role in the criminal plot. In November, he placed an order for a consignment of semi-processed talc from Afghanistan to India via Iran that included heroin.”
“Sushanta Sarkar employed his business, Jesus Christ Impex, for the objective mentioned above. He also delivered the shipment to Kabir Talwar’s business in New Delhi, another accused party. Members of the heroin trafficking organization who have been charged in this instance unpacked the load, “explained the spokeswoman.
In a special court in Ahmedabad, the agency has already filed a charge sheet against 16 people on March 14 and a supplemental charge sheet against nine more suspects on August 29.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) previously claimed that its investigation had uncovered a vast and widespread network of drug traffickers, international facilitators and conduits, importers using fictitious or shell companies, distributors, and local wholesalers and retailers who are running a massive international drug smuggling racket out of many nations, including Afghanistan, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
It claimed that five shipments of items containing heroin were brought into India between November 2020 and September 2021, according to the first results of the inquiry.
