Customs destroy 111 kg drugs worth Rs 83 cr at Taloja

The Mumbai Customs officials on Wednesday destroyed 111 kilograms of drugs valued at Rs 83 crore and covered under the schedule to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, at Mumbai Waste Management Limited, Taloja, a facility authorized by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). The drugs destroyed included 19.48 kgs of heroin, 4.95 kgs of cocaine and approximately 44 kgs of hashish and marijuana, officials said.

"The first lot destroyed was the contraband seized by the Mumbai Airport Customs in 10 cases which included 19.48 kg heroin, 4.95 kg cocaine and 43.57 kg hashish worth Rs 72.81 crores. The second lot was the contraband seized at Courier Cell by the Special Investigation & Intelligence Branch (SIIB) of the Airport Special Cargo Commissionerate across seven cases which included 42.8 kgs of marijuana, 132 grams of hashish and 15 grams Cocaine of total worth Rs 10 crores," said a Customs official.

The drugs were destroyed by way of incineration as per the Hazardous & Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, at Common Hazardous Waste Treatment Storage & Disposal Facility, Taloja, the official added.

According to Customs officials, the successful detection of smuggled contraband is due to the combined exercise of human intelligence, sniffer dogs and machines deployed at the airport.

In June this year, nearly 2,040 kgs of drugs valued at Rs 225 crores were destroyed by the Mumbai Customs officials. These included 1064 kg Methamphetamine, 238 kg Mephedrone, 483 kg Ephedrine and 204 kg Madrax.