Indian Heroin Smugglers forced to Excrete Swallowed Drugs

Three Indian heroin smugglers who were part of an International drug cartel were arrested by a Special Cell team in Delhi on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, and Thursday, March 14, 2019.

The gang had been involved in the smuggling of high-purity heroin. They had smuggled the drugs internally, so the police only recovered the drugs once it had been expelled from them.

The smugglers transported the heroin from Afghanistan to India and a total of two kilograms was recovered. It had a reported street value of more than Rs. 8 Crore (£870,000).

Three members of the cartel were arrested when they attempted to deliver a shipment of the Class A drug to their associate in Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi.

A trap was set by investigators and all three drug smugglers were arrested.

Deputy Commissioner of Police PS Kushwah said:

“Following a tip-off, a Special Cell team arrested the accused after conducting separate raids on Wednesday and Thursday at their flats located in south Delhi.”

Police officers found that they had swallowed capsules of heroin. The men were taken to the hospital where doctors confirmed that they were hiding the capsules in their stomachs.

The three men were then forced to excrete the heroin capsules before the drugs were recovered and the men were arrested.

One gang member was found to be carrying a whole kilogram of high-purity heroin, while 500 grams was being smuggled by each of the other men.

Drug trafficking has become a problem for law enforcement in India which led them to prioritise this particular branch of crime.

It has become a challenge for officers as drug gangs are discovering different ways to smuggle the narcotics into India.

Over the past few months, the Special Cell has been working on busting drug cartels who are involved in the supply of high-quality heroin.

They have been smuggling several consignments through airports undetected when swallowing capsules.

Smugglers swallow the capsules to get through airports before they are extracted from their excreted faeces.

Capsules typically weigh 20 grams and at least a dozen capsules are smuggled at once by one person.

Without prior suspicion, swallowing drug capsules is a method which is difficult to detect.

India has become one of the major hubs for illegal drug trading. Drugs such as cannabis, methamphetamine and heroin are some of the main drugs that are smuggled into the country.

Cannabis remains the most frequently seized drug in South Asia. India alone accounted for six per cent of the world’s cannabis seizures in 2016, which is nearly 300 tonnes.