KOCHI: A day after the narcotics control bureau (NCB) and Indian Navy seized around 2,500kg of methamphetamine from a vessel in Indian waters off Kochi coast and arrested a Pakistan national as part of it Operation Samudra Gupta, the NCB said that the source of the seized contraband was the coastal town Jiwani in Pakistan.

The agency also suspects that the drugs were sent by the Pak-based drug cartel kingpin Haji Salim. There are signs like that of a scorpion, bitcoin and ‘Rolex 555’ on the seized drug packets, which points at various meth labs in the Iran and Pakistan coast.
The NCB also suspect that a mothership and other vessels carrying more drugs are out in the sea and a search is under way to intercept them. The NCB has reportedly sought the help of the Indian navy for the purpose.
“After investigation found that the drug was brought from Jiwani and it belongs to Haji Salim’s networks. A detailed interrogation of the arrested accused is needed. We suspect that there could be a mothership and other vessels with even larger amounts of the contraband,” P Aravindan, NCB Zonal Director, Kochi, said.
The drug was seized from the ‘Golden Crescent’ route, name given to one of Asia’s illegal drug superhighways, located at the crossroads of Central, South and Western Asia.
The NCB recorded the arrest of the Pak national on Sunday and he will be produced in the court. The agency is likely to seek his custody for further investigation in the case.
Meanwhile, the worth of the seized contrabands amounts to be more than Rs 20,000 crore considering the ‘purity’ of the seized methamphetamine. Earlier it was estimated to be around Rs 15,000 crores.
“It is the purest form of Meth and costs very high. The intended destinations could be India, Sri Lanka and Maldives. We are investigating for more leads,” Aravindan said.
The NCB is also looking at the possibility of local involvement in drug smuggling. The agency aims to collect more details from the arrested person.