Bengaluru airport customs seizes 4.496 kg of drug Ephedrine worth ₹89.92 lakh

|HT|

A huge consignment of 4.496 kg of the drug Ephedrine worth more than ₹89.92 lakh has been seized from the International Courier Terminal at the Bengaluru airport by different agencies including Airport Customs. The seizure was carried out based on a specific intelligence input, at the courier centre on Friday with the involvement of the Customs Intelligence Unit, Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch, Bengaluru Airport and Air Cargo Commissionerate in the operation.

Hidden inside a parcel packed with readymade garments and in pouches, was despatched to Australia, said a Customs official to a leading news website.

The official also said, "Sale and export of Ephedrine, a medication and stimulant, is prohibited under the NDPS Act by the Indian government."

The exporter is an Indian national and a native of Vijayawada.

Soon after the seizure the exporter has been arrested and produced before the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court on Saturday evening and further probes are on. Just a few weeks ago in a similar incident, which was marked as the largest drug seizure at Bengaluru airport cargo section this year, the Customs officials had seized ephedrine worth ₹9.2 crore hidden in utensils from Kempegowda International Airport.

The frequent occurrence of similar drug dealings and export at huge amounts and value has left the city on alert. Ephedrine, a white crystalline substance is a medication and stimulant, popularly used as a party drug, and was brought under the ambit of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in 2013. Its sale was banned in India subsequently.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)