Chennai: A team from the narcotics control bureau arrested a man from Nigeria who had allegedly tried to send narcotics worth over Rs 20 lakh from Ambattur post office to South Africa on Monday by concealing the drugs in the walls of the carton boxes. This is the first time NCB is detecting a narcotics smuggling using India Post in Chennai.The NCB squad found 2 kg pseudoephedrine and 100 gm heroin concealed in the carton boxes The arrested man was identified as Henry Chidi, who had been living in Chennai for the last three years.
Henry was trying to book the parcels, declared as containing ‘hair’, for South Africa and Guinea through the head post office of Ambattur when the postal officials became suspicious and tipped off the NCB officers.The post office staff’s suspicion was proved right when the NCB men opened the secret chamber on the walls of the cartons and found pseudoephedrine and heroin inside. Three cartons were stuffed with of 1,980 gm of pseudoephedrine and 95 gm of heroin besides the ‘hair’, the main product, were seized.
During interrogation, Henry Chidi admitted to have been part of a Delhi-based international drug cartel which was reportedly supplying contraband to Africa and Canada. He reportedly was sending the consignment this way at least for the last one year.Henry was remanded in judicial custody and lodged in Puzhal prison on Tuesday.
According to NCB zonal director Prem Anand Sinha, he had procured the consignment from Delhi and had already sent several consignments to Canada and South Africa through Indian Post during the last one year. “This the first time we are coming across a modus operandi where drug traffickers are using India Post for smuggling narcotics,” he said.
