Times of India
30 August 2010
Chennai, India

Police laid a trap and arrested seven people, including a customs official, for selling heroin. They made the arrests late on Saturday night, and seized one kg of heroin worth Rs 1 crore in the international market.

Police suspect that the drug could have reached the city through a network originating in Afghanistan. "A decoy posed as a buyer and contacted the smugglers. They wanted Rs 30 lakh for 1kg of heroin. The decoy set up a meeting on Saturday in a hotel opposite Perambur Railway Station, " said N Baskaran, Pulianthope deputy commissioner of police.

Special police teams were waiting inside and outside the hotel. A Tata Sumo arrived and one person got out of it with a huge bag and sat next to the decoy. Police immediately cornered the man, but his accomplices in the car sped away.

"There was nothing inside the bag, " said the officer. "But we decided to use the man we nabbed to catch the rest. "

The man, Charles from Devakottai, was allowed to talk to his associates, and, monitored by the police, he asked his accomplices to meet him at the Central Railway Station.

Police personnel nabbed six more men at the Central Railway Station. The arrested were customs official Natarajan, who works in Cuddalore port, and his associates, Soundara Rajan, Ravi, Kannan and another person, apart from Charles. Police teams also recovered the contraband from a house in Mogappair.

Police sources said the contraband was not smuggled through Cuddalore port as it did not have any customs seals. Initial inquiries revealed that they procured the contraband from a person in Sivaganga district. The sachet has been packed neatly and had letters printed in Urdu.

"Special teams are on the hunt for the prime accused. The contraband could have originated from Afghanistan and sent through Saudi Arabia into India. If needed, we will take the arrested accused into police custody to get more details, " a senior police officer said.