Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) probe into the drug syndicate has revealed that the accused arrested in possession of drugs in the case linked to the death of Sushant Singh Rajput have sourced the contraband locally as well as from foreign countries.
The agency has arrested eleven persons in the case including Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik. The agency made headway in the case by first arresting two men — Abbas Lakhani and Karan Arora — possessing a total of 59 grams of curated marijuana. Another accused, Kaizan Ebrahim, was held with 0.5 grams of a dark brown substance purported to be the hashish found at his house.
The further trail to trace drugs led them to arrest Anuj Keshwani, who was found in possession of 590 grams of hashish, 0.64 grams of LSD sheets and 304 grams of marijuana. “Investigations with those who were found in possession of drugs revealed that they were procured from USA and Canada through courier services,” said an NCB officer privy to the investigation. “Our probe revealed that Keshwani also procured the contraband from Goa.”
The officer added that bitcoin as a means of financial transactions for his illegal remuneration has also been used. Cryptocurrency transactions are, generally, more difficult to track, making it easy for educated drug peddlers to use them.
The agency probe revealed that postal service and courier firms are being used by the international drug mafia to send their consignments. According to agencies fighting narcotics, drug cartels have come upon this way to smuggle drugs, where the risk of one of their members found carrying drugs is minimal. Such cartels falsely declare the product while shipping. Lack of monitoring equipment and failure to follow regulations for shipment makes it easier for drug cartels. The NCB, in the past, has been undertaking campaigns to impart training to the employees of courier companies in identifying drugs, concealment methods and raising the red flag in case of suspicious consignments found.
