Drug busts at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport are at an all time high this year, indicating that the city is soon becoming a major transit point and market for narcotics. Law enforcement agencies, however, haven’t been able to crack open the domestic network of the international drug mafia, whose kingpins still remain elusive.
The Asian Age explores the highly secretive operational tactics, akin to any intelligence agency, adopted by the international mafia and Mumbai’s unmistakable emergence as a major drug hub.
Modus operandi
This year alone, nine cases of drug smuggling were busted at the Mumbai airport with 100 kg of drugs being seized. This is higher than the five cases busted in 2010-2011 and four in 2011-12, customs officials said. The drugs seized include cocaine, amphetamine, ketamine and methaqualone.
According to customs officials, the international drug mafia operates “like the Lernean Hydra in Greek mythology; you cut off one head, another one grows back”.
Often, the carriers, even experienced smugglers, are unaware of the identity of the person from whom they collect the contraband and vice-versa. “They operate on a ‘need-to-know-basis’. This is exactly like covert military operations, where the operatives are given objectives at the last moment so that the opponents have no clue about their agenda. Every time we arrest a person, he/she is unaware of the person to whom the drug is to be sold to. We are, therefore, never able to fracture the larger network behind the arrested smuggler. The only silver lining is that the accused are usually not acquitted because of the stringent nature of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act,” explained a customs official at the Mumbai airport.
The official said that even though the identity of the supplier is not revealed, the one who is to receive the drug, gets to know of the arrest and manages to escape.
Also, the loss of a “carrier” to a law enforcement agency doesn’t really translate into diminished manpower for the cartel. “There is never a shortage of persons desirous of making a quick buck,” the official said. This was evident from the September 24 arrest of two women, one Indonesian and the other Vietnamese who were caught while bringing in 6 kg cocaine worth `6 crore. The Indonesian Edyma Siregar and the Vietnamese Ly Lgosce were single mothers and were promised handsome rewards by their handlers. This convinced customs officials that cartels are now using women, who usually don’t arouse suspicion.
An official from the Mumbai police Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) said that interrogating Africans involved in drug trade too is difficult because of language barriers and a shockingly professional “training programme” in Indian laws by their handlers. “Only 10 per cent of the Africans, at least in Mumbai are legitimate and law abiding foreigners, while the rest are involved in drug trade. They are thoroughly educated in dealing with the Indian police, the local populace and the legal framework. They often drop the drugs when we are about to apprehend them and thus, can’t be charged for possession,” said the official.
New routes
Customs officials believe that Benin, the new African country carved out of Mozambique, has now become a major market for drugs, after a few smugglers were caught coming from there.
“Both Siregar and Lgosce were coming from Benin in a stopover flight from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. Similar was the case with South African woman Herman Lucky (40), who was arrested on August 24 while bringing in 18 kg of amphetamine worth `18 crore. South Africa and Ethiopia have always been established smuggling routes, but Benin seems to be the new destination,” said deputy customs commissioner (airport) Sameer Wankhede.
Most of the carriers either land in the city to sell the drugs, or transport them further to South-East Asian countries, including Singapore. “We believe that the kingpins are based in London and other European cities and have connections with South American drug cartels,” said an official from the Mumbai police Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC).
A source from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) also said that they believe that part of the international drug mafia that was earlier operating from Kenya has now shifted to Ethiopia. Sources claimed that common drugs (both chemical and natural) are produced in Ethiopia from where it is then diverted for export.
Mumbai as a market
The current trend marks a transition from Mumbai being only a “transit point” for transporting drugs to South Asian and neighbouring countries, to a major market in itself. This is evident from the large quantities of ketamine and amphetamine seized after two separate busts by the ANC.
On September 24, a Nigerian woman Lara Okin (24) was held with amphetamine and cocaine worth `65 crore and on October 1 Chennai-based K. Nagnathan was caught with 12 kg of ketamine at the Mumbai airport by Air Intelligence Unit (AIU).
The ANC had also seized 84 kg of amphetamine on September 28 worth `8.4 crore in a parcel from a courier company in Andheri (east), which was to be transported to Malaysia. The source of the drugs was then traced to man in Chennai.
Officials said that Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan remain major chemical narcotics manufacturing markets in the country. Mumbai, on the other hand, is being used both to send and bring in the drugs.
Drugs like heroin and cocaine are both imported by smugglers and produced domestically. Foreign smugglers operating in the country, however, deal in all kinds of drugs, the officials said.
“This is due to the rave party culture and increased demand for drugs among the youth. Charas and ganja are less addictive and not limited to the party culture. However, chemical drugs are more sought after because they make a person euphoric and hyperactive ,which is essentially what the pub-going youth want,” said an ANC official.