The Ministry of Home Affairs has ordered the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe a case linked to a shipping consignment cleared at Gujarat’s Mundra Port in June this year, sources told News18. Sources added that the consignment was received by a mysterious Delhi-based businessman who is now at the heart of the investigation into the seizure of 3,000 kg heroin at the port. Both cases will now be merged, sources said.
According to sources, the case handed to the NIA now was registered by the Delhi unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in September. According to sources, the consignment was sent by the same Afghanistan-based drug dealer suspected in the heroin bust and also allegedly involves the same group of people under scanner. It was also reportedly delivered using the same route.
Eight persons — four Afghan nationals, one Uzbek and three Indians — had been arrested in connection with the seizure of 3,000 kg heroin worth Rs 21,000 crore from the Mudra Port in September. Those arrested include an Indian couple — M Sudhakar and his wife Durga Vaishali — who allegedly ran Vijayawada-registered M/S Aashi Trading Company which had imported the consignment claiming that it contained “semi-processed talc stones”.
One accused who remains elusive is a Delhi-based businessman named Kuldeep Singh. Investigators suspect that the name could be an alias. His known addresses and contact numbers have also turned out to be invalid.
According to sources, Kuldeep Singh received the June consignment, also declared as semi-processed talc, via a Rajasthan-based transporter. This consignment was much more than double in quantity compared to the heroin shipment seized by the DRI in September. While DRI officials seized the September consignment that turned out to contain heroin, they missed the June shipment which was successfully delivered to Kuldeep Singh.
As per the joint interrogation report accessed by News18.com, the June consignment is believed to have been sent by Afghanistan-based drug dealer Hasan Hussain to Vijaywada-based Sudhakar who was in turn supposed to get the cargo to Kuldeep Singh. But the consignment was stuck at the Mundra Port over money issues. Sudhakar allegedly asked Kuldeep Singh for help and within minutes, the latter is said to have wired Rs 3 lakh and arranged additional amount through hawala transactions.
“The company (Aashi Trading Company) had successfully delivered its first consignment on June 06, 2021, at Mundra port (Gujarat)… The consignment contained semi-processed talc powder (as claimed by the subject) and the consignee was one Delhi-based person namely Kuldeep Singh r/o Alipur, New Delhi,” the interrogation report said.
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