Haji Salim, a Karachi-based prison kingpin who works with Pakistan’s spy company and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit to facilitate the infiltration of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, additionally runs the primary syndicate that smuggles the vast majority of Afghan heroin and illicit medicine to India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and a few Middle East international locations, investigations by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and different businesses have revealed.

Salim’s cartel operates many clandestine laboratories in Balochistan, the place heroin from Afghanistan are labelled with completely different symbols or inscriptions, investigators stated, declining to be named. Some of the packets seized by Indian businesses mid-sea had inscriptions like ‘555’, ‘999’, ‘Unicorn’ and ‘Dragon’.

“While it is estimated that 70% of total drug trafficking in India is taking place through the maritime route, Haji Salim’s network is behind the majority of consignments,” an official stated. “He sends consignments in entire IOR (Indian Ocean region) and Indian ports.”

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Indian businesses have until date seized within the Indian Ocean area round 3,000 kg of heroin, 500 kg of methamphetamine and 600 kg of hasish that have been despatched by Salim’s cartel.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) briefed the anti-narcotics process forces (ANTFs) of states’, union territories’ police forces and central businesses about Salim’s community throughout two-day nationwide convention of ANTFs final week.

The modus operandi utilized by this cartel “usually involves mid-sea exchange of the consignment from the mother boat (usually Iranian) to small fishing boats and dhows for carrying the drugs to Indian waters or other neighbouring countries,” based on the officer cited above.

In one occasion, the NCB, in a joint operation with the Navy, had seized 200 kg of heroin from an Iranian vessel in October 2022. The consignment was exchanged mid-sea from a Pakistan boat.

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Similarly, a probe by the NIA revealed that Salim’s community provides medicine to Sri Lanka as properly in affiliation with Sri Lankan drug mafia led by C Gunashekharan, alias Guna, and Pushparajah, alias Pookutti Kanna. The anti-terror probe company had in December arrested 9 Sri Lankan nationals from a particular camp for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees at Tiruchirapalli for allegedly smuggling medicine and arms to revive the actions of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist group. It turned out that Salim was sending consignments to them.

“A major concern in India’s security and intelligence community about Haji Salim’s network is that not only he is associated with ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) and LeT, but his cartel is actively facilitating infiltration of terrorists in J&K,” a second officer stated.

Inputs counsel that use of maritime route by smugglers is prone to choose up tempo.

The Mundra port drug bust of round 3,000 kg of Afghan heroin price some ₹21,000 crore, intercepted in September 2021, was one of many greatest consignments ever that got here to India through the maritime route. The NIA discovered that cash generated by way of medicine to Mundra was meant for terror actions.

A particular version of NCB’s annual report 2022, launched throughout ANTFs convention, stated: “The maritime drug trafficking in Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal poses new challenges to drug law enforcement agencies and they anticipate further increase of this route by international drug trafficking syndicates operating from Pakistan and Afghanistan”.

Interception of maritime drug trafficking, particularly within the western area of India, has seen a rise, the report stated. “Most of such seizures are sourced from the ports of Afghanistan or Iran, which are destined to coastal states of India or are in further transit to countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, etc. White heroin is the most trafficked drug through maritime route, other drugs like ATS, charas and cocaine are is also seized”, the report stated. HT has seen a duplicate.

Several steps are being taken to cease smuggling by way of the seas, officers stated. The authorities has given further funds to the NCB and different businesses for enhanced monitoring of Indian waters, and 100% checking of suspected containers are being finished at ports. The NCB has recognized places to put in cellular automobile scanners at worldwide borders and inland places, stated the primary officer cited earlier.

Subsequently, the house ministry can also be exploring know-how to scan containers. An interministerial committee has been constituted to check greatest practices by the opposite international locations on transnational drug trafficking by way of the maritime route.

Drugs trafficking by way of courier or parcels have elevated, from 118 such parcels detected by businesses in 2019 to 374 in 2020, 268 in 2021 and 279 final yr, the NCB report stated. Besides, there’s elevated use of darknet and cryptocurrencies by smugglers.

The NCB stated smuggling of cocaine from South America, primarily by African residents and seized at airports, is seeing an upward pattern. “There are many instances of small quantities of cocaine trafficking through parcels concealed in common household articles like cosmetics, utensils, books and clothing,” the NCB report stated.

“There has been a steep rise in drug smuggling along the golden crescent involving Afghanistan and Pakistan. The porous borders and ineffective law enforcement makes it easier for traffickers to move drugs across the border,” stated Shreya Upadhyay, a strategic affairs knowledgeable and assistant professor at Christ University, Bengaluru.

“It is important to strengthen coordination not only at the domestic level but also intelligence sharing with countries from where these consignments originate or are used as transit points,” she stated. “The influx of drugs has implications at the level of public health, security of the country and social stability.”