Mumbai : The Mumbai Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized nearly 2,000 MDMA tablets worth around Rs 1 crore from a parcel consignment from Foreign Post Office (FPO) and arrested an African national Monday.
An official said that as per initial information, an African syndicate was alleged to have been involved in procurement of narcotic drugs ordered through darknet.
Soon, it was learnt that a consignment of drugs has been ordered from the Netherlands through parcel mode concealed in tin cans, the official said.
Accordingly, strict alert was maintained at various drop points.
On June 20, an alert was generated from the FPO-Mumbai about the contents of a parcel which when opened, a total of about 2,000 tablets of pink, yellow and green colour were noticed.
When checked, it was found to be MDMA which weighed a total of 996 gms, the official said.
An investigation was launched to trace out the receiver under the supervision of NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Amit Ghawate.
On June 26, the alleged receiver, an African national named John Sunday, was identified at Nallasopara. Soon, a team of officers paved a trap layout and soon after confirmation of his presence in the location, he was intercepted.During a search at his residence, a fake Indian passport was recovered with a forged picture of him, the official added.
The officer claimed that during questioning, John said that the drug was procured by him for further distribution in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and other cities.
He also stated that in view of ongoing strict vigil, he had schemed a plan to procure the drugs in parts which would have been distributed among the illicit drug circuit in the onset of festive season.
The Indian passport seized from his possession was deliberately forged by him to book parcels, officials said.
The seized drug was procured from the darknet based illegal drug market for which payment was made through cryptocurrency.
He was in contact with a few key associates and handlers based in foreign countries. It was also learnt that John was booked previously also by NCB-Mumbai in 2021 and was presently out on bail. His local associates with pan-India linkages are being investigated, the official added.
