NCB thwarts bid to smuggle methamphetamine worth Rs 70 crore to Sri Lanka

CHENNAI: Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) sleuths seized 7kg methamphetamine worth 70 crore and arrested three people in connection with the case. The drug was sourced from Manipur, to be smuggled into Sri Lanka.

Acting on a tip-off, NCB sleuths secured a man named Bysul Rahman of Ramanathapuram on July 24 as he was about to board a bus in Kilambakkam to his hometown. A check of his bag led to the seizure of nearly 6kg of methamphetamine. During inquiry, NCB found that two more people, Mansoor of Chennai and Ibrahim of Ramanathapuram, were involved in the smuggling and arrrested them in Red Hills on Saturday. Based on their confession, an abandoned house in Red Hills was searched and another 1kg of methamphetamine was seized.

NCB’s Chennai zonal director P Aravindhan said that the men sourced the drug from Moreh in Manipur to smuggle it into Sri Lanka. All three were remanded in judicial custody.

This is the second case NCB has busted since June with similar modus operandi. Sleuths had seized 1.47kg of methamphetamine from a gang involving Sri Lankan refugees last month. The main accused in that case, Kasilingam, who was already in prison, had coordinated with his wife to run his meth ring. The latest bust, however, has nothing to do with it, said NCB officials.