Representative image of a police van
Credit: iStock Photo
New Delhi: Drug traffickers in the national capital have begun using bike transport services to supply narcotics to their clients by hiring the drivers to carry contraband in boxes of medicines, food and other such items, police officials said on Monday.
In the recent past, several recoveries of drugs have been made by catching a few of these couriers dropped by motorcycle drivers employed with bike transport companies, said a senior police officer.
The Delhi Police on Monday said it has arrested two drug peddlers on Monday, including one Nigerian national woman, who were using the same modus operandi for delivering narcotics to hotels and clubs.
"We have arrested a 26-year-old Nigerian national woman and one Mohammad Shadab (32), who used to transport drugs using motorcycle couriers," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Surendra Choudhary said.
In this new modus operandi unearthed recently, it has been found that small-scale drug traffickers are using the motorcycle couriers to supply narcotics to their customers at hotels, clubs and other addresses across the city, the senior officer said.
The hired drivers carry the contraband in boxes of food items, medicine, packed T-shirts, and health supplements, among other similar items, the officer added. Sharing details about Monday's arrest, DCP Choudhary said on October 10, a secret information was received that two people were selling drugs, following which a raid was conducted in Mahipalpur Extension and Shadab was nabbed with 145 grams methamphetamine, 77 grams of heroin from his rented accommodation.
Later, on his instance, one Nigerian national woman was also apprehended the same day with 50.54 grams of MD drug.
"During interrogation, Shadab disclosed that he was involved in human trafficking three years ago. He got connected to Nigerians during that period," the officer said.
"To earn more money, he started supplying narcotic substances to various hotels and clubs in the national capital and surrounding areas. He used motorcycle couriers for the supply by hiding the drugs inside T-shirts packages," the DCP added.
After a recent major drug bust by the Delhi Police, the department has ramped up efforts to combat the drug menace by focusing on local drug traffickers, who play a key role in supplying drugs across the national capital and its surrounding areas.
"Our teams often apprehend drug traffickers, and through their interrogation, we are able to target larger interstate and international players of drug cartels," said another senior police officer.
Recently, in a joint operation between the Delhi and Gujarat Police, 518 kilograms of cocaine, valued at around Rs 5,000 crore, were seized from Ankleshwar in Gujarat on Sunday, and five individuals were arrested.