Meth, cocaine worth Rs 1,476 crore seized in Navi Mumbai

The drugs were hidden in cartons of imported oranges, they said. A total of 198 kg of high-purity crystal methamphetamine and nine kg of high-purity cocaine were seized at Vashi, said an official.

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized crystal methamphetamine and cocaine collectively worth Rs 1,476 crore from neighbouring Navi Mumbai, officials said on Saturday. The drugs were hidden in cartons of imported oranges, they said. A total of 198 kg of high-purity crystal methamphetamine and nine kg of high-purity cocaine were seized at Vashi, said an official.

The central agency's Mumbai zonal unit had received a tip-off about a consignment of fruits stored at a cold storage facility containing concealed drugs, he said. A DRI team swung into action and intercepted a truck in Vashi carrying `Valentia oranges' imported from South Africa on Friday evening and found drugs concealed in the cartons, the official said.

The truck had left Prabhu Hira Ice & Cold Storage in Vashi, he said. This seemed to be a new way of drug smuggling where the goods were sent to a cold storage after customs clearance before further transportation, he said. The importer has been detained and is being interrogated, the official said, adding that further probe was on.