Chennai: Drug lords try golden' route for ketamine

Chennai: While Myanmar —Kolkata — Chennai has been the most favoured route of the inbound gold smugglers, the narcotics smugglers now using the reverse route to take their consignment out of the country. NCB on Friday claimed that they had busted ketamine smuggling racket operating on Chennai —Kolkata — Myanmar route and seized 20 kg of party drug valued Rs 4 crore, from airport and a hideout in Triplicane.

According to NCB sources at first sleuths had intercepted a passenger M Siccandar Ali, 50, in Chennai airport on Thursday before he got into a  Kolkata flight. The sleuths found that Ali had kept nearly 10 kg of ketamine valued over ' 2 crore hidden in his belongings.

After extracting information from him, NCB team raided a house at Akbar Street in Triplicane and found another 10 kg of ketamine, worth Rs 2 crore,  kept there  along with 100 kg of red sander. The red sander logs were later handed over to the local police.

One Mohammed Saddam Hussain, staying in the rented premises was also arrested. It may be noted that last Sunday a seizure of 5 kg of ketamine was made in the Chennai airport and Mohammed Hussain is suspected to be behind that case also.

Both the arrested men are natives of  Elayamkudi, Sivagangai. The gang was planning to take the contraband by domestic flight till Kolkata to avoid customs checking and then by road to Myanmar through porous border. Final destination of the drug is believed to be Bangkok.

With the scrutiny increasing many fold at the international arrival and departure terminals at the Chennai airport, the gold smuggling gang were bringing in yellow metal from Myanmar border by road till Kolkata then by train or flight to Chennai to dodge customs officials. Now the narco smugglers are using the reverse route avoid scrutiny at the international departure and taking the high value party drugs to Kolkata by flight or train to Kolkata to push it further to south east Asian countries by road,  an official.