Mumbai: In a significant operation, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)-Mumbai seized 74,000 capsules (29.6 kgs) of illicitly diverted pharmaceutical drugs and 2,44,400 cigarettes of multiple apparently fake brands. The seized consignments, destined for London, UK, were intercepted at the Air Cargo Terminal of Mumbai Airport.
Acting on intelligence inputs, NCB-Mumbai uncovered the involvement of an international syndicate procuring pharmaceutical drugs from India through illicit diversion and smuggling them to offshore customers. Initial investigations indicated that bulk air cargo was being misused for this operation.
Following meticulous analysis and surveillance, NCB identified two containers belonging to logistics companies Address India and UDX Worldwide IMTL Courier & Logistics, both based in Andheri, Mumbai. The movement of these containers was promptly halted at the Air Cargo Terminal, and a search operation was launched. The smuggled items were concealed among non-suspicious food items and falsely declared in the shipment manifest. This misdeclaration was a calculated move to evade detection.
