Police seize 208 kg of cocaine worth Rs 2,080 crore from west Delhi, second big haul in a week
New Delhi, Oct 10: In the second big drug haul in a week, Delhi Police has seized 208 kg of cocaine worth Rs 2,080 crore from a rented shop in west Delhi, an official said on Thursday evening.
The drugs were hidden inside plastic packets of snacks with 'Tasty Treat' and 'Chatpata Mixture' written on them. About 20-25 such packets kept in cartons were recovered from a small narrow shop in west Delhi's Ramesh Nagar area, the official said.
The seizure is linked to an earlier recovery of 562 kg of drugs worth over Rs 5,000 crore from southwest Delhi's Mahipalpur, he said.
He further said the recovered seizure weighs around 208 kg, which is worth Rs 2,080 crore in international market.
Official sources said the consignment was kept there by an Indian origin UK citizen who is now on the run.
"We got a tip off during investigations of our previous seizure and arrest. On Thursday evening, a team of the Special Cell was sent to the shop and recovered the consignment," a police officer said.
The UK citizen, who is identified by the police, managed to escape before the arrival of the team. He had taken the shop on rent a few days ago, the officer said, adding two people including the owner of the shop have been detained and questioned.
The owner told the police that the shop was taken on rent for business related to garments, the officer said.
It is suspected that the UK citizen wanted to transport the drug consignment to other parts of the country but he fled after the police's previous seizure, he said.
The Special Cell, on October 2, had seized over 560 kg of cocaine and 40 kg of hydroponic marijuana estimated to be worth Rs 5,620 crore from a godown in Mahipalpur in south Delhi and arrested four people. Two more persons were subsequently apprehended from Amritsar and Chennai.
Earlier in the day, the Special Cell arrested a man identified as Akhlak, a native of Hapur, Uttar Pradesh. This was the seventh person to be arrested in the case.
The police sources said the syndicate was allegedly run by a Dubai-based businessman Virender Basoya. He was allegedly running the racket with the help of Tushar Goyal and Jitender Gill alias Jassi, both arrested by the police, they said.
The police have also issued a look out circular (LOC) against Basoya, who is on the run. The police suspect that Basoya is a part of an international syndicate which has given different works to different people.
Majority of syndicate members do not know each other and they were operating on the basis of code names on social media, the police sources said.
A senior police officer, who is privy to the investigations, said so far 700 kg of cocaine, worth over Rs 7,000 crore, has been recovered from the national capital so far.
The seizures are the part of same syndicate which which had brought consignment via sea route to Goa from South American countries.
It is suspected some more such consignments are kept or already transported to other destinations, the officer said.
He said the police teams are conducting raids at various parts of Delhi and NCR and trying to nab the other co-accused of the drug syndicate.
#WATCH | Delhi Police Special Cell has recovered a consignment of cocaine from a closed shop in Ramesh Nagar. About 200 kg of drugs have been recovered, whose value in the international market is more than Rs 2,000 crore. This drug was kept in packets of namkeen: Delhi Police… pic.twitter.com/B45xgz1Afp
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TN Assembly elections: Eight-month pregnant homemaker wins Thiru Vi Ka Nagar seat for TVK
Chennai (PTI): Before giving birth, she had already delivered a mandate—a symbol of hope for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.
Echoing Delhi’s 2013 “common citizen” political churn associated with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an eight-month-pregnant homemaker, M R Pallavi, has been elected as an MLA from Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, emerging as one of the notable first-time faces of the Vijay-led TVK in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In the narrow lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, a steady stream of media personnel has been making their way to Pallavi’s residence—a scene reminiscent of the result day in Delhi when journalists thronged the modest home of Rakhi Birla, who had won from Mangolpuri on an AAP ticket.
Pallavi, 36, a homemaker educated up to class XII, defeated the DMK candidate K S Ravichandran by a margin of 22,333 votes in the reserved Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Assembly constituency.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while DMK and AIADMK got 59 and 47, respectively.
Pallavi’s victory has drawn attention due to her personal circumstances. She campaigned extensively while eight months pregnant, going door-to-door to reach voters.
According to local accounts, she even fainted once during the campaign but continued her outreach.
She has not spoken to the media following her victory, as doctors have advised her to rest. Her husband, Rajesh, briefly recounted her campaign efforts.
A self-professed admirer of actor-turned-politician Vijay, Pallavi joined TVK soon after its formation and is now among its first-time legislators.
Doctors have advised her to be hospitalised around May 20, as she is expecting her second child. Ahead of that, voters in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have entrusted her with representing them in the state Assembly.
Political observers say the rise of candidates like Pallavi signals a possible shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, with voters backing a new party and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
