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TN key transit point for int'l meth traffickers
The New Indian Express
|September 09, 2024
TAMIL NADU has emerged as an important transit point for international drug syndicates trafficking the banned narcotic methamphetamine or its precursor pseudoephedrine to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Australia, where there is high demand, according to probes by Indian investigators.
Official data from the Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) Chennai zone shows the agency's seizures of meth bound for Sri Lanka jumped from 12kg in 2021 to 66kg in 2022 and 81kg in 2023, indicating a hike in transnational trade.
In 2024 alone, the NCB's and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence's (DRI) Chennai zones have seized 57kg of the Official data from the Narcot- drug with a street value of ₹360 crore in just four cases. In all four, the narcotic was sourced from Myanmar and en route to Sri Lanka. The latest seizure of 10kg was made by the DRI last week, leading to the arrest of six and busting of an international syndicate.
Trafficking of meth is a highly lucrative business, said officials.
This story is from the September 09, 2024 edition of The New Indian Express.
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