Image showing cocaine. For representational purposes.
Credit: iStock Photo
New Delhi: Delhi Police on Wednesday claimed seizing 562 kg of cocaine and 40 kg Thai marijuana after arresting four people, including a young man whose family runs a publication group, for allegedly being involved in drug trafficking.
Tushar Goyal, Himanshu, Aurangzeb and Bharat Jain were apprehended from Mahipalpur Extension in South West Delhi by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on Wednesday after working on a tip off, Additional Commissioner (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwaha told reporters.
He said the seizure is one of the biggest by the force in the national capital. Though he did not give a cumulative figure for the drugs seized, he claimed the cost of cocaine is Rs 10 crore per kg and Thai marijuana around Rs 40-50 lakh per kg. If one goes by this calculation, the seized cocaine is worth Rs 5,620 crore.
He said there was no angle of narco-terror at this moment but they were investigating all angles. The Special Cell had been working for three months to crack the group based on a tip-off from central agencies which led to the bust just before the festive season.
Goyal and his associates Aurangzeb and Himanshu as well as Jain, who came from Kurla West to collect the contraband were initially arrested with 15 kg of cocaine outside a godown. A subsequent search at the godown yielded the rest of the contraband.
“The forward and backward linkages point to a middle-eastern country and a major handler,” Kushwaha said.
He said Goyal belongs to an affluent business family and had a “flashy” lifestyle. Aurangazeb is Goyal’s driver while Himanshu functioned as a close associate.
The seized cocaine allegedly reached Goyal via road while marijuana reached him via air, Kushwaha said.
Investigators said this network was part of a larger module with connections extending beyond India.