Customs hit Rs.18cr drug jackpot S African woman held with 18kg rave party drug; biggest haul in 10 yrs

Customs hit Rs.18cr drug jackpot

S African woman held with 18kg rave party drug; biggest haul in 10 yrs

Customs officials claimed to have made the biggest seizure of drugs in the past decade when they arrested a South African woman carrying 18kg of amphetamine on Friday. Known as MDA and popular in rave parties, it’s worth around Rs30 crore internationally and over Rs18 crore in the Indian market. This is the second major drug haul this week. The air intelligence unit of customs, headed by assistant commissioner Sameer Wankhede arrested single mother Harman Lucky, 32, when she was on her way to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Maputo, Mozambique. She was produced in court and has been sent to judicial custody. Lucky claimed ignorance about the drugs hidden in her clothes. “She said she didn’t know it was a banned drug and that a relative gave her the packets saying they were factory chemicals,” said an official. Lucky said she collected the consignment during her four-day stay in Mumbai. Officials said she even delivered MDA to someone in Colaba before attempting to take more out of the country. “Investigations are on to find the Colaba contact,” said an official. Lucky’s passport shows this was her second visit to the city. Customs officials say that there is a huge demand for high-end drugs like cocaine and MDA in Mumbai. On Wednesday, two South East Asian women were arrested with 6kg cocaine. “Affluent southeast Asians with are being used as carriers by smugglers now. These people cut a deal with some airport staffers who help them clear such consignments.” Recently, Mumbai customs caught two CISF officers red-handed for helping smugglers clear goods without paying duty.