Mundra port drug bust: Arrested couple ‘pious, leading ordinary life’
The DRI claims the heroin was brought in the form of semi-processed talcum powder, by a Vijayawada-based trading firm called ‘Aashi’
The husband and wife arrested in connection with the massive haul of drugs at Gujarat’s Mundra Port, operated by the Adani Group, are likely to have been unaware of the contents of the container that carried the heroin, sources said on Thursday (September 23).
The sources said the couple, from Andhra Pradesh, may have simply been “name lenders” and described them as “pious and leading ordinary life”.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested the couple from Chennai, on September 20, in connection with the smuggling of 3,000kg of heroin, worth ₹21,000 crore, which was seized at Mundra Port in Gujarat on September 17.
The contraband originated from Afghanistan and was brought to India from Iran’s Bandar Abbas Port.
The DRI claims the heroin was brought in the form of semi-processed talcum powder, by a Vijayawada-based trading firm called ‘Aashi’.
Initial investigations revealed that a resident of Chennai named Govindaraju Durga Purna Vaishali had taken GST registration on her Vijayawada address. Her husband, Machavaram Sudhakar, also a resident of Chennai, runs ‘Aashi Solar Systems’. While the building in Vijayawada is owned by Vaishali’s mother, the couple were living in an apartment at Kolapakkam, in the outskirts of Chennai.
The couple were arrested after a tip off. It is claimed that they were staying in Chennai for the last eight years. According to the residents of their apartment complex, they have two children.
According to media reports, following the launch of his trading company, Sudhakar came in contact with a man named Hasan Hussain, proprietor, M/s Hasan Hussain, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, through an intermediary named Amit.
The investigations confirm that Sudhakar has been used as a tool only to transport the contraband and the seized drugs were intended for Delhi, not Vijayawada.
The couple have been remanded in custody till September 30.
The Adani Group has, meanwhile, said policing and examining containers are not its responsibility. The Group has been put under intense social media glare following the drug seizure.
The company has issued a statement saying port operators are not allowed to police or examine containers and cargo anywhere in the world.
