Drugs Worth Rs 48 Lakh Found Concealed In Toys, Books Packages In Gujarat

Cocaine and cannabis worth Rs 48.39 lakh allegedly procured using the dark web were found concealed in toys and books in courier packages in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, an official said on Saturday.

In a joint operation, the Ahmedabad cyber crime branch and the Customs Department recovered cocaine and cannabis worth Rs 48.39 lakh from international courier packages, the official said.

The agencies had received a tip-off that peddlers were using the dark web and other social media platforms to move narcotics from Canada, the US and Thailand through international courier companies, additional commissioner of police (Cyber Crime), Neeraj Badgujar said.

A joint team successfully intercepted several courier parcels containing cocaine and high-quality cannabis weighing 2.31 grams and 5.970 kg and worth Rs 2.3 lakh and Rs 46 lakh respectively in the international market, he said.

"In this new modus operandi, the narcotics were concealed in toys and dipped paper. The addresses and numbers on couriers are fake to make the detection extremely difficult. Few receivers have been identified and investigation is underway," the official told reporters.

The pages of books were soaked in drugs. Once these books are delivered, the substances are extracted by cutting the pages into fine pieces, he said, adding that a large number of such books and toys were seized and one of the packages was sent from Thailand and another from Canada.

The drugs were seized from the foreign post office of Ahmedabad, he said.

"We are investigating to track down the person who was going to collect the packages from the post office, and we are getting full cooperation from central agencies for the same. The state government is serious about the drug issue and is constantly motivating and guiding us to eradicate the menace," Neeraj Badgujar said. 

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