₹10 Crore Worth Drugs Seized As NCB Busts Nepal–India–Sri Lanka Trafficking Network
Chennai: In a major crackdown on international drug smuggling, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has dismantled a trafficking network operating between Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka, seizing narcotics worth nearly ₹10 crore and arresting five people.
Officials said the operation led to the recovery of 77.6 kg of hashish oil and 2 kg of charas during coordinated raids carried out by the NCB’s Chennai and Hyderabad zonal units. Authorities also seized two cars, a motorbike, and a fishing boat that were allegedly being used to transport the drugs.
The investigation began on March 3, when officers from the NCB’s Hyderabad unit intercepted a Tata Safari Storme near the Raikal Toll Plaza on the Bengaluru–Hyderabad highway in Telangana. During a detailed search of the vehicle, officials discovered 2 kg of charas hidden inside specially modified cavities. Two men — one from Delhi and the other from Uttar Pradesh — were taken into custody.
Further interrogation revealed that the seized drugs were part of a larger consignment smuggled from Kathmandu, which had entered India through the Sonauli border. The consignment was then allegedly transported across several states before reaching Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu.
Based on this information, the NCB’s Chennai unit launched a follow-up operation in the coastal region and recovered around 77.6 kg of hashish oil from three more suspects, including a Sri Lankan refugee, raising the total number of arrests in the case to five.
Investigators said the traffickers were planning to ship the drugs from the Thoothukudi coast and transfer them mid-sea to a Sri Lankan contact using a fishing boat. Acting swiftly, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted the suspected boat near the International Maritime Boundary Line, successfully preventing the handover.
Authorities have also identified a Sri Lankan national believed to be the intended recipient of the drugs and the person who allegedly financed and coordinated the shipment from Nepal.
Officials said the investigation is ongoing as agencies work to trace the financial trail and uncover other members of the international drug trafficking syndicate.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
