Unpacking Pak Ploy of Pushing Drugs via High Seas to India, Other Neighbours, with D-Company Help | Exclusive

Pakistan is now a major hub of processing and smuggling drugs with gangster and wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim’s so-called D-Company taking care of logistics and other support, CNN-News18 has learnt.

A recent operation of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in which 2,525 kg of methamphetamine worth about Rs 15,000 crore in the international market was recovered has exposed a new trend, said sources.

Through questioning of the accused and technical intelligence, it was found that Pakistan has been importing raw materials for banned drugs, processing them in its territory, and sending them to neighbouring countries.

Drugs were recently recovered from a Pakistani boat in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Kochi on the high seas.

One Pakistani national was arrested. As per the initial investigation, the recovered contraband was sourced from Pakistan.

Last year, operation Chandragupta was launched by India to check the inflow of drugs, particularly heroin and methamphetamine.

It was discovered that drugs were mainly coming from the Makran coast to Indian territories and neighbours in the south through the Indian Ocean Region.

To date, around 3,500 kg of methamphetamine, 500 kg of heroin, and 530 kg of hashish have been seized through the operation.

Even Sri Lanka in recent times has seized 240 kg of heroin and 130 kg of methamphetamine while 4 kg of heroin was confiscated by authorities in the Maldives.

Haji Salim is one of the top drug kingpins of the region who belongs to Pakistan and his involvement has been found in most of these cases, said officials.

They added that possibly the Dawood network is also active in arranging logistics from Dubai and sending them to neighbouring countries.

Recent trends suggest that drugs produced in Afghanistan go to secret laboratories located mostly in the Balochistan region for further processing and refining, said sources.

According to officials, processed drugs from these regions are transferred to the sea, where they are loaded onto dhow boats mostly along the Pasni and Gwadar ports in Pakistan, and Konarak and Chabahar in Iran.

These small dhows then transfer the drugs to mother boats on the high seas which then sail for delivery.

Drugs from a mother boat are unloaded onto many small dhows near the recipient country.

These small dhows then carry the drugs to the coast of the recipient country.

Mother boats generally move in international waters to avoid any detection by the navies, said the sources.