The Narcotics Control Bureau's deputy director general, northern region, Gyaneshwar Singh, who is heading the departmental vigilance probe into allegations of extortion in the drugs-on-cruise case, arrived at the agency's office in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The Customs department suspects that the contraband, which originated from Afghanistan and Pakistan, had either fallen or was dumped by foreign vessels for the purpose of smuggling, he said.
Based on information received from those arrested, a raid was conducted at Delhi's Kotla Mubarakpur on Tuesday, a police officer said.
'In a joint operation carefully planned by the NCB and the Indian Navy in the high seas, NCB officials have successfully seized around 529 kg of very high quality of hashish, 234 kg of finest quality of crystal methamphetamine and some quantity of heroin,' the anti-drug agency said in a release.
The anti-drugs agency in its affidavit said attempts are being made to tamper with the ongoing investigation with a malafide intention to derail the probe into the case.
It said that increased focus on expenditure monitoring was the reason being the seizures, which included freebies such as sarees, 'food kits', pressure cookers and kitchen appliances.
The anti-drugs agency had earlier arrested nine people, including Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, after raiding the Goa-bound ship on Saturday.
They were earlier lodged at the quarantine barrack of the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.
The Narcotics Control Bureau on Tuesday claimed to have busted the "biggest" darknet-based LSD cartel operating in India with the seizure of more than 13,000 blots and Rs 26 lakh in cash and the arrest of three persons.
The NCB had sought custody of Zubair Derakshshandeh for five days from May 22, said advocate B A Aloor who is representing the accused in the case.
The ICG and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad apprehended the fishing boat in a joint operation in the high seas on Sunday afternoon, the coast guard said in a release in Ahmedabad.
The court was considering the petition of the NCB seeking the custody of Pakistan national accused Zubair Derakshshandeh for five days from today.
Gujarat tops the chart with total seizure worth over Rs 510 crores, followed by Tamil Nadu at Rs 270.15 crores, Andhra Pradesh over Rs158 crores, Punjab Rs 155.91 crores and Uttar Pradesh Rs 142.31 crores.
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.
An alleged synthetic narcotics producer, Kubbawala Mustafa, wanted on an Interpol Red Notice, was deported to India from the UAE in an operation coordinated by the CBI and Mumbai police.
Former Mumbai Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) chief Sameer Wankhede appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Mumbai for the second day on Sunday in a case in which he is accused of demanding Rs 25 crore bribe from superstar Shah Rukh Khan for not implicating his son Aryan in the Cordelia cruise 'drug bust' case, an official said.
The Bombay high court on Thursday said it would hear on October 26 the bail plea filed by Aryan Khan, son of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, in connection with a case of seizure of banned drugs on board a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.
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.
The central agency booked Wankhede and four others on May 11 for alleged criminal conspiracy and threat of extortion, besides under provisions pertaining to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a complaint by the NCB.
In the 15-page order, the details of which were made available on Saturday, the ACMM said 'this court ceases its jurisdiction to entertain the applications for bail' considering section 36A and the fact that all three were held for one crime under various provisions of the NDPS Act for which the prescribed punishment was more than three years.
Both Singh and her husband are accused of consuming ganja
Singh's comment comes close on the heels of a large stockpile of drugs, cash and weapons being recovered near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch.
The Narcotics Control Bureau has seized about 50 kg of 'high-quality' heroin and arrested a man after it conducted raids in the Shaheen Bagh area of Delhi's Jamia Nagar, the federal anti-narcotics agency said on Thursday, claiming to have busted an Indo-Afghan drug-smuggling racket.
The DMK also warned of legal action against those who attempt to link Sadiq with either the party or its leaders.
The DGP said after concealing the contraband, the accused persons had meticulously welded the door border and repainted it.
The petition, filed through advocate Rizwan Merchant, claimed that after concluding the investigation in the case, a draft complaint was prepared by the department legal advisor, where charges were proposed against Aryan Khan among others.
The cumulative seizure of such illegal inducements in the five poll-going states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab -- stood at Rs 1,039.50 crore, the sources said, adding that it included drugs worth Rs 571.34 crore.
Senior counsel Amit Desai, appearing for Aryan Khan, termed the NCB's contention as 'inherently absurd' and argued that when there was no recovery of drugs from him, then he should not be penalised at the stage of granting bail.
Wankhede, whose interim protection from arrest in the Central Bureau of Investigation's case of extortion and bribery against him was on Thursday extended by the HC till June 23, in his rejoinder affidavit claimed the SET has 'twisted facts and labelled false allegations to jeopardise the career and character of honest officials'.
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.
"There is no evidence of consumption, no recovery of drugs and absolutely no evidence to show his participation in this so-called conspiracy and abetment as alleged by the NCB," Rohatgi said while arguing for Aryan Khan's bail.
The Interpol has issued its first Silver notice, at India's request, to track the global assets of former French Embassy officer Shubham Shokeen, who is wanted in connection with a visa fraud. The Silver notice, introduced in January this year, aims to track illicit assets across the globe. India is among 51 countries participating in the pilot project for the Silver notice, which will continue until November. The Interpol has issued two Silver notices on the CBI's request - one against Shokeen for allegedly facilitating Schengen visas for illegal gratification and another against Amit Madanlal Lakhanpal, who is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly creating a cryptocurrency without permission and defrauding investors.
The poll-panel called these seizures by its various field and technical enforcement teams a "historic milestone" achieved "for the first time in any assembly electoral process", meaning during simultaneously-held assembly polls.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rejected an application seeking pre-arrest bail filed by Samville D'Souza, whose name had cropped up in connection with allegations of pay-off in the case of drug seizure in which Aryan Khan, actor Shah Rukh Khan's son, was arrested.
The CBI has significantly increased the rate of fugitive repatriation, bringing back 134 individuals in the last five years, doubling the number from the previous decade. This success is attributed to enhanced diplomatic efforts, technological advancements, and improved coordination with Interpol.
During the period of COVID-19 lockdown, no such actionable inputs were received by NCB revealing the nexus between people in the film industry and drug traffickers'
Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3. He is currently in judicial custody and lodged at the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai.
Analysis of statements of Arbaaz Merchant, a co-accused, showed that Merchant never claimed that the 6 gm charas recovered from his possession was meant for consumption by Aryan, the charge-sheet noted.
In his appeal in the HC against the special court order, Aryan Khan said the Narcotics Control Bureau's "interpretation and misinterpretation" of the WhatsApp chats collected from his mobile phone was "wrong and unjustified".
The police have so far seized approximately 1,700 kg of mephedrone from Pune and a couple of locations in Delhi.
