Vijayawada, Sep 20 The huge consignment of heroin confiscated at Gujarat's Mundra port was intended to reach Delhi and not Vijayawada, a senior Andhra Pradesh Police official said on Monday.
Vijayawada Police Commissioner B. Sreenivasulu's clarification came amid reports that a city-based firm is under probe by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in connection with the drug haul.
The DRI reportedly seized 2,988.22 kg of the banned substance with an estimated street value of Rs 2,000 crore at Mundra Port on Wednesday.
The contraband was mixed with talc stone powder, and packed in two containers.
The consignment originated from Afghanistan, and shipped to Gujarat from Iran's Bandar Abbas Port. The GST number used for consignment allegedly belong to a company registered in Vijayawada, with its office on Gadiyaramvari Street at Satyanarayanapuram.
The Police Commissioner said on verification with the investigating agencies, it was learnt that Govindaraju Durga Purna Vaishali, a resident of Chennai, had taken GST registration in August 2020 on the address D No 23-14-16, Satyanarayanapuram. Machavaram Sudhakar, a resident of Chennai, is the husband of Vaishali. The building is owned by Vaishali's mother Govindaraju Taraka.
"It is learnt that Vaishali has taken a import and export license (IEC Code) from Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for export and import purpose. It is also learnt that both wife and husband (Sudhakar and Vaishali) have been residing in Chennai for the past many years," he said.
"The smuggled heroin in the guise of talcum powder that landed at Mundra Port is intended to reach Delhi, but not to Vijayawada as alleged in some sections of media. So far no activity except using the Vijayawada house address for obtaining above licenses has come to notice. However, further enquiries are being conducted," he added.
It was learnt that investigating agencies conducted raids and searched in Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Chennai etc.
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