The consignment containing 440 kg of ketamine hydrochloride, worth over Rs 50 crore in the international market, was meant to be smuggled to Malaysia. It was seized by DRI sleuths from Tuticorin port, Chennai on Thursday, official sources said.

The DRI has also arrested three people, including a person arrested by it in 2007 in a similar case. Sources said the consignment was covered under two shipping bills consigned to Malaysia and declared to contain iodised salt, fried grams, rice flakes and other miscellaneous items. The goods declared under the two shipping bills containing 519 kg of iodised salt weighed about 13 metric tonnes.

An inspection of the salt bags revealed that 22 bags contained the drug, which, though not covered under the stringent NDPS Act requires a licence to be exported from Narcotics Commissioner, Gwalior. Since regular export of salt also happened through this port, the smugglers would have zeroed in on the Tuticorin port.