Police in India have arrested members of a drug smuggling gang who attempted to traffic opium and horse tranquiliser ketamine to Canada in Indian cooking pots.
A Canadian national of Indian-origin was among four people detained on Sunday after investigators discovered 4.75kgs of ketamine and 6kgs of opium concealed within kadhai cooking woks in two cars.
The gang is said to have planned to use courier services to traffic drugs to Canada in the traditional cooking equipment.
The narcotics were neatly packed in seven double-layered cauldrons which had been soldered together.
Canadian national Davinder Nirwal, Ajit Singh, Tarlochan Singh and Gurbax Singh were intercepted with the drugs while they were on their way to hand over the consignment to a courier company.
Police said the conspiracy was masterminded Nirwal, who also goes by the nickname Dev, and Canadian citizen Kamaljit Singh Chauhan, who is based in Toronto.
In a statement, Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Intelligence HKPS Khakh said: “Dev, a big name in the drug smuggling world, had been under close watch by the Enforcement Directorate and the Narcotics Control Bureau.”
Nirwal, who was arrested in 2011 on international drug smuggling charges, is alleged to have headed up a syndicate that enjoyed access to a well-established chain of supply within India and abroad.
His smuggling operation had links to both Dubai and Canada, as well as different states in India, including Maharashtra, Goa and Rajasthan.
“After release from jail, Dev again started his drug smuggling network. He had got to know second gang member Ajit in jail. He joined in to make easy money,” Khak said.
Nirwal is said to have made a huge amount of money through his drug smuggling activities, and had accumulated a significant property portfolio, including a commercial plaza of 6,000 square feet.
Noting that the gang had previously sent 20kgs of opium to Canada, police said the method the suspects used highlighted a growing trend for traffickers to use commercial postal services to ship large quantities of drugs overseas.
Previous consignments sent by the gang were concealed in boxes of sweets.
Police said the courier company the gang used, which has not been named, was given fake identity cards.
“Interrogation has revealed that Dev and Ajit were to arrange the drugs and pack them inside the woks. Chauhan was to arrange the transport through courier,” Khak added.
Separately, the Hindustan Times reports that India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence last week closed down an illegal drugs factory that was producing large amounts of impure ketamine.
Police said drugs made at the site would be sent to Goa and Gujarat, from where they were smuggled on to Britain and Canada.
Social Widget