Over 40 kg opium worth Rs 40 crore seized in Delhi, 3 held

PTI

New Delhi, September 22

Delhi Police’s Special Cell has arrested three people and recovered opium worth around Rs 40 crore in the international market, police said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Amra Ram (34), Bhana Ram Choudhary (33) and Bhalla Ram (31), all residents of Rajasthan’s Jodhpur, they said.

The opium was smuggled from the northeastern states and was meant to supply in Delhi and other nearby states, police said.

The accused used a secret cavity to hide opium in the car, which had a temporary registration number for evading law enforcement agencies, they said.

On September 11, police got a tip-off that two persons indulged in drug trafficking activities on the directions of Bhalla reached Delhi with a consignment of opium and would come on Noida Link Road, near Crown Plaza Hotel to deliver the consignment, a senior police officer said.

A trap was laid and Amra and Bhana were nabbed, along with a car having no number plate on the back side and a temporary number plate on the front side, he said.

A total of 40.865 kg of fine-quality opium was recovered from the secret cavities made in the chassis line covered by the front and back tyre fender liner, the officer said.

The recovered opium is worth around Rs 40 crore in the international market, police said.

Police found that Bhalla was admitted to a hospital in Jodhpur on September 11 sensing that the members of his gang may have been arrested as their phones were not reachable, the officer said.

He was arrested after being discharged from the hospital. On his instance, 3.058 kg of opium was recovered from his home in Jodhpur, the officer said.

Amra and Bhana disclosed that they were part of an interstate narcotics syndicate run by Bhalla and were involved in drug trafficking activities for the last six months, police said.

They would receive opium from different people in Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Assam on the directions of Bhalla and supply it in Delhi/NCR, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Chandigarh on his directions, they said.

Bhalla runs an interstate drug cartel and has been involved in drug trafficking activities for the last six years. He used to communicate with suppliers and receivers of opium via social networking platforms and used WhatsApp accounts registered on international numbers, the officer said.

He purchased two new cars for the smuggling of opium and made special cavities to hide narcotic substances, police added.