Bengaluru
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Sunday seized 13.2 kg of drugs worth Rs13 crore hidden in photo frames at the Bengaluru International Airport.
The drug, pseudoephedrine, was bound for Australia and is reportedly one of the biggest seizures of the narcotic drug this year.
The consignment had already reached Singapore’s Changi Airport before it was sent back to Bengaluru last week, according to a report in ‘The Hindu’. The consignment had a Chennai address and was shipped by a private courier company.
An official in Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport was quoted as saying they received information about smuggling of pseudoephedrine but the consignment had by then already reached Singapore.
Pseudoephedrine is used in the production of several narcotic drugs including methamphetamine. It is notified as a controlled substance under the NDPS Act.
The consignment sent back from Singapore contained photo frames, albums, bangles and other personal items. The box was meant to look like personal items for family members in Australia and the drugs were hidden in the consignment.
The narcotic substances were hidden in the covers of the albums and photo frames. Pseudoephedrine is sold at Rs1 crore per kg, according to the DRI.
