Restrictions imposed across the globe in 2020-21 due to coronavirus and the increased use of darknet resulted in two-to-three times jump in drug trafficking through couriers and postal services in India during this period, a latest NCB report has said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked enforcement agencies to go after 'big fish' involved in drug trafficking, saying they need to find who is sending 'mountains' of illegal drugs into the country.
The NCB, which got the remand of Aryan Khan and the other eight accused from the court till Thursday, also claimed that in the WhatsApp chats he is discussing modes of payment to be done for procurement (of drugs) and that several code names are being used.
The court, in its order, noted that the investigation in the case was of prime importance and considering this aspect, the further presence of the accused before the NCB was necessary.
Officials were surprised at how quickly smugglers appraised the Covid situation to recruit jobless migrant workers to ship gold.
'We are also seeing the birth of new evil, the new face of drug distribution where human interface has reduced; consumers are using the Dark Web to source supplies and using cryptocurrencies as payment mode.'
With this, the anti-drugs agency has so far arrested 17 people in the case, including Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, and some "high-profile organisers" belonging to a Delhi-based event management company.
West Bengal police arrested Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rakesh Singh from Galsi in Purba Bardhaman district, about 130 km from Kolkata, on Tuesday night in connection with his alleged involvement in a drug seizure case, a senior officer said.
The NCB has so far arrested 16 people, including Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, 23, in the drug seizure case.
Besides Aryan Khan, the arrested accused are identified as Munmun Dhamecha, Arbaaz Merchant, Ismeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Gomit Chopra, Nupur Sarika, and Vikrant Chhokar.
