LUCKNOW: In a crackdown on cross-border narcotics trafficking, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 5.24 kg of heroin worth nearly Rs 10.48 crore from a passenger travelling on a Kathmandu-Delhi bus and arrested a 28-year-old courier in Lucknow.The accused, identified as Lalsang Zuala, was allegedly carrying the contraband concealed inside his luggage and was reportedly promised Rs 50,000 for transporting the narcotics consignment.According to DRI officials, the operation was launched following specific intelligence inputs that a passenger travelling from Kathmandu to Delhi by road was smuggling narcotic substances. Acting on the tip-off, DRI officers mounted surveillance and intercepted the suspect passenger during the early hours of May 20 in Lucknow. He was held from near toll in Chinhat road.During a detailed examination of the baggage, officials recovered two packets containing 5,240 grams of a white powdery substance. Field testing later confirmed the substance to be heroin.Officials said the seized heroin has an estimated value of around Rs 10.48 crore in the international illicit drug market. The contraband was seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.Following the seizure, Lalsang Zuala was arrested and later produced before the Additional District and Sessions Judge, NDPS Court, Lucknow, which remanded him to 14 days’ judicial custody.Sources said that men who want quick and easy money turn to become carriers and in return are paid a hefty sum, in Feb also the man from North East was arrested was offered Rs 30,000 for transportation he was arrested with Rs 10 crore heroin.Investigators are now probing the larger trafficking network behind the consignment, including the source of the heroin, intended delivery points and possible links to interstate and international drug syndicates operating through the Nepal border route.Officials suspect the accused was working as a courier in a larger smuggling chain and was tasked with transporting the narcotics to Delhi in exchange for money.The DRI said that with the latest seizure, the agency has recovered a total of 21.34 kg of heroin worth approximately Rs 42.68 crore in Lucknow over the past six months as part of its intensified drive against narcotics smuggling and organised drug trafficking networks.
