New Delhi: The Crime Branch of Delhi Police on Tuesday claimed that it has busted an international drugs racket and arrested three persons from near Majnu Ka Tila in North Delhi. Police claimed that to dodge the cops, the accused used to keep the opium with other items so that patrolling parties cannot doubt them. A total of 15 kg of opium was recovered from them which was to be supplied to Punjab from Bangladesh. The estimated value of the seized opium is Rs 1.5 crore in international market. The accused were identified as Alam Sheikh (26), Shakeel (45) and Jasvinder (32).
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Bhisham Singh stated that the syndicate is being run by one Ibrahim, who procures the opium from Bangladesh and Jharkhand and supplies it to various areas of UP, Delhi and Punjab. "The accused, Sheikh, is suffering from a heart ailment and he was in a dire need of money for his treatment. He came in contact with Ibrahim who lured him to this illegal trade and assured him to pay Rs 10,000 per trip to accompany Shakeel, the transporter with illegal drugs," said the DCP. The arrest was made by a team led by ACP (crime) Aditya Gautam.
The other accused, Jasvinder, owns a dhaba on Shamli-Karnal Road, where a large number of truck drivers are regular customers and they consume opium. About 2-3 years back, he came in contact with Shakil, who was supplying opium for Ibrahim. Finding this trade profitable, Jasvinder started purchasing opium from Ibrahim and selling in retail to truck drivers. He also supplied the contraband to his various contacts in Punjab and Haryana in wholesale. The estimated value of opium in the international market is nearly Rs 10 lakh per kg.