The Directorate of Revenue and Intelligence (DRI) carried out a three-day operation codenamed “Operation Calypso” to blow up an international drug trade in which cocaine was hidden in a plate of steam from Trinidad and Tobago to Mumbai, people familiar with the development said. . Four people – two African and two Indian women – have been arrested, and cocaine weighing 504 grams worth Rs3 crore per Rs4 crore was recovered on the international market, they said.
Investigations have also revealed that this union smuggled multiple shipments of cocaine in the past; the total amount of cocaine smuggled through the same modus operandi is more than 3.3 kg as of August 2020, valued at more than Rs 20 million.
DRI, Mumbai, had received intelligence information from a trusted source regarding the smuggling of cocaine into Mumbai from Trinidad and Tobago.
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“We immediately jumped into action and, as expected, during preflighting, the address stated on the courier package looked suspicious, suggesting that it would be challenging to intercept the Indian recipients of the contraband. We first intercept the shipment and check for the presence of cocaine. From then on, we kept a discreet surveillance and when a woman came to pick up the shipment on November 17, she was detained by the team, ”said an officer.
The woman revealed during interrogation that the package containing the contraband was to be delivered to an African citizen in Navi Mumbai.
“Teams were quickly formed and shipped to Navi Mumbai. To make the delivery look more realistic, the services of an app-based taxi were also used. The teams waited for almost an hour, after which an African citizen approached the taxi in which the lady was waiting with the shipment. When he tried to take the package, he was immediately overpowered by DRI agents going undercover. An accomplice of the African citizen was waiting nearby in a car. Upon seeing his accomplice caught, the other African citizen fled immediately, ”said a second officer.
“We went in pursuit and when his car was about to be intercepted, the African citizen jumped out of the moving car and started running. However, after a chase of almost a kilometer on foot, car and car, the accomplice was also captured, ”said the second officer.
The DRI officials cited above said the role of another woman living in Mumbai was also uncovered during the operation. “Sources confirmed that this woman was on vacation in Udaipur. Another DRI team from the Ahmedabad unit quickly assembled and arrived in Udaipur in the dead of night. The DRI team was able to focus on the exact location of the woman in Udaipur. They guarded the hotel and on the morning of November 18, with the assistance of the Udaipur Police, the woman was apprehended. She was then arrested by DRI and, with the magistrate’s permission, was taken to Mumbai in pre-trial detention on Wednesday night, ”said the first officer.
“Then it also came to light that this woman was a storyteller who was arrested by the Mumbai police last year. The woman who had come to pick up the package from the courier also has a criminal record and both women met while in jail last year, ”he said.
In total, four people have been arrested.
“The operation being carried out by DRI has created a sophisticated cartel of international drug traffickers. The immaculately executed ‘Operation Calypso’ has once again demonstrated DRI’s commitment to fighting international drug cartels and its ability to plan and execute complex operations, all in strict compliance with the letter and spirit of the law, “he said. a third officer.
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