The Office of Narcotics Control is the latest agency involved in the Sushant Singh Rajput case. (Proceedings)
Mumbai:
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) detained a suspected smuggler who has “ties” to its investigation into the drug trafficking case following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, authorities said.
The unidentified man caught by the federal anti-narcotics agency is allegedly involved in supplying narcotics in high-level party circles in Mumbai.
He is expected to be arrested by the NCB on Wednesday after his questioning gave agency officials some “vital clues” about the narcotics case filed against Sushant Rajput’s actor friend Rhea Chakraborty and others, they said.
The agency arrested two men last week for alleged drug trafficking in the western metropolis and the leads against the detainee were given after questioning them.
A special team from OCN from Delhi, headed by KPS Malhotra deputy director (operations), is camping in Mumbai to carry out this investigation. The team also includes officials from Mumbai agencies and has been constituted by the Director General of the NCB, Rakesh Asthana.
The agency filed a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) after the Directorate of Enforcement, also investigating the 34-year-old actor’s death case, shared a report with him after he cloned two of Rhea’s mobile phones. Chakraborty.
According to the officials, the conversations and messages from the mobile phones indicated the purchase and consumption of drugs and the DE shared these leads with the NCB and the CBI.
The OCN, as part of a linked operation, also seized about 3.5 kg of buds or cured marijuana from foreign post offices in Delhi and Mumbai.
Authorities said the operation in Mumbai led them to a Goan man identified as F Ahmed who works as a driver at a major resort in the coastal state.
“Ahmed was supplying shoots to a prominent recipient in Bangalore who has links to page 3 celebrities,” said an NCB official.
An intensive operation has been carried out against the illegal importation of cured marijuana (buds), which is sourced mainly from the US and Canada, and is in high market demand in Mumbai, he said.
While the seizure made in Delhi was destined for Mumbai, the one made in Mumbai was obtained in Canada and destined for Goa, the officer said.
“The widespread use and demand for buds in the Mumbai region has driven up prices on the gray market and has huge pecuniary gains in traffic. Sourcing the bud is mainly through the darknet and cryptocurrency, which provides layers of anonymity to buyers and sellers, “said the NCB official.
In the Delhi seizure, he said, the source of the outbreak was found to be the United States. “The consignee of the smuggling was based in Delhi, but his contact in Mumbai confused him with the fact that some legal things were being acquired from the United States and that they were to be picked up by people from Mumbai, whose search is underway.” the officer said.
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