Afghan man among 3 held in Mundra drug haul case
THE NATIONAL Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested three more people, including an Afghan national, in connection with the September 2021 Mundra port drug haul case. The agency has claimed that the network, operated by Daad brothers of Afghanistan, sent five drug consignments between November 2020 and September 2021, which were all processed in Delhi and then sent to other parts of the country, including Punjab.
The arrested accused were identified as Rah Matullah, a permanent resident of Kabul but residing in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar for the past few years; Ishwinder Singh from Panipat in Haryana but residing in Model Town in national capital; and Jasbir Singh from Tilak Nagar, Delhi.
“They were arrested yesterday for their active involvement in smuggling of heroin in large consignments camouflaged in containers of talc stones, bituminous coal etc. through the maritime route,” the NIA said in a statement on Thursday.
The agency had last month arrested Harpreet Singh Talwar alias Kabir Talwar, owner of Playboy Club at Delhi’s Samrat Hotel, along with his associate Prince in the case. It has till date arrested about two dozen people in the case and filed chargesheets against 25, including some absconding accused.
According to NIA, the consignment of 3,000 kg of heroin concealed as semi-processed talc apprehended by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in September last year at Mundra port was sent by the largest international drug smuggling syndicates, run by Daad brothers – Hassan Daad and Hussain Daad – both Afghan nationals and wanted by the NIA in the case.
