Officials seize Rs 6 cr of contraband in KIA

In one of the biggest drug hauls this year at the Kempegowda International Airport, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Bangalore zonal unit, intercepted two men on March 22, and recovered drugs worth at least Rs 6 crore in the international market.

The arrested have been identified as Nousheer Muhammed (29), a resident of Virajpet in Kodagu, and Noushad Mannakkamvalli (24) from Malappuram in Kerala, the officials said.

Biggest haul in KIA this yr

The NCB recovered 965 gm of amphetamine, 30 gm of cocaine and 4.525 kg of hashish from the accused.

NCB officials said they had intelligence inputs that a big consignment of contraband was heading to Oman. Based on the inputs, the bureau trailed the two youngsters. Muhammed worked in a bakery in Virajpet, while Mannakkamvalli was a painter in Kerala. “Our men are working on finding out the source of the drugs while they know that the two accused are just the mules,” said a senior NCB official.

The two were intercepted at KIA as they flew to Doha in Qatar by Oman Air.

On checking their baggage, the NCB officials along with their counterparts in customs at the airport found that the amphetamine and cocaine were concealed in a quilt, while the hashish was hidden in two tiffin boxes kept in two backpacks.

Muhammed and Mannakkamvalli were arrested on March 23 and produced before the court for further
proceedings.

DH News Service