NCB arrests management graduate for importing drug parcels from US

A Delhi-based management graduate has been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for allegedly receiving parcels of drugs from the US amid the ongoing lockdown imposed in the country to contain the spread of coronavirus, officials said on Tuesday.

Five parcels, containing 880 gms of marijuana, including 420 tablets with hemp extract, were seized from the man identified by the central anti-narcotics agency as L Dhingra, a resident of Inder Puri area in Delhi.

The man is engaged in construction material business and he used to illegally import drugs using the IDs of his tenants and other people, NCB Deputy Director General Rajesh Nandan Srivastava said.

He alleged that the man had a "contact" in Russia who arranged the drug parcels from the US to be sent to him in India.

The man, who has completed BBA, has been arrested under the NDPS Act.

He had "access to various drug consumers who used to take drugs from him", Srivastava said.

"Due to the lockdown, drug traffickers are facing difficulty in sending across narcotics and psychotropic substances. To circumvent the logistic constrains due to lockdown, possible means are being explored by drug traffickers," the officer said.

Marijuana and hemp extract are categorised for control under the provision of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) but in many parts of world, cannabis(marijuana) or hemp products are legalised.

The illegal users of this drug in India have a tendency to import these products from various parts of world, a senior NCB officer said.