A Kochi court on Tuesday granted the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) custody of a Pakistan national, arrested in connection with the seizure of over 2,500 kilograms of methamphetamine from a vessel in Indian waters, till May 27. The NCB had requested Zubair Derakshshandeh's custody for five days starting on May 22.
A court in Kochi on Tuesday granted the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) custody of a Pakistan national, arrested in connection with the seizure of over 2,500 kilograms of methamphetamine from a vessel in Indian waters, till May 27.
According to lawyer B A Aloor, who is representing the accused in the case, the NCB had requested Zubair Derakshshandeh's custody for five days starting on May 22.
The agency's remand report from May 16 stated that a Pakistani drug trafficker had promised the accused "good money" after the job was finished.
Due to the high purity of the confiscated methamphetamine, the agency had stated on May 15 that the true commercial value of the contraband following its most recent estimate was close to Rs 25,000 crore.
NCB had said that the contraband was kept in 2,525 plastic boxes and placed in 132 sacks. "The net weight of methamphetamine came out to be 2,525.675 kg," the agency had said.
It had also said that it was the largest seizure of methamphetamine in the country. The drugs were seized in a joint operation by the Navy and NCB.
The agency had claimed that the consignment was meant for India, Sri Lanka and Maldives from Afghanistan.
The seized drugs, the intercepted boat and some other items salvaged from the vessel along with the Pakistani national were brought to Mattancherry Wharf and handed over by the Navy to the NCB, it said.
The NCB also verified that the substances belonged to Pakistan's infamous drug trafficking organization, the Haji Salim Network. The drug production facilities at Jiwanu, in Pakistan's Balochistan province, produced them for the sunken "mothership." The nameless mothership sank, and the Navy and coast guard are still looking into how many people managed to escape on a speedboat. The Pakistan boat targeted Lakshadweep and Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also launched a probe into the case.
(With inputs from PTI)
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