Synthetic drugs worth around Rs 800 crores, manufactured in Himachal Pradesh, were smuggled to Canada and the US by a Delhi-based drug racket, according to the Punjab Police, who arrested key members of the racket yesterday.
Businessman Dev Behl and his associates Rakesh Tinku and Mohinder, who were arrested yesterday from Delhi, revealed during interrogations that drugs were being manufactured in Himachal Pradesh and other parts of the country and smuggled to Canada and the US, Patiala SSP Hardyal Singh Mann said.
Dev Behl, the alleged kingpin of the Delhi-based racket, obtained raw materials, including precursor chemicals ephedrine and pseudoephedrine from India, processed them in factories located in Himachal Pardesh and smuggled them to Canada, the SSP said.
Three consignments of drugs worth Rs 800 crore in the international market were smuggled to Canada, and the primary recipient of the consignments has been identified as one Iqbal Singh alias Pala, based in Toronto, Canada, he said.
Behl operated in tandem with one Ravi Shankar and the duo jointly manufactured synthetic drugs in a factory in Baddi in Himachal Pardesh, he said. Shankar later shifted his operations to Canada and US after selling his share to Behl.
Behl revealed that Ravi Shankar was arrested in the United States on charges of murder and subsequently, his involvement in the drug trade was also revealed, the SSP said.
The Delhi racket used all means, including women, to lure international clients, he said.
The SSP said cross-verification of the disclosures made by the accused was being done while police parties have been dispatched to different states and raids are being conducted to nab persons involved in the massive drug racket.
The three accused were remanded to police custody for three days till December 9, along with Jagadish Bhola, alleged kingpin of another racket in Punjab, who was arrested last month by the Punjab Police.
